#6 Erma Bombeck : Home-made humor

"Insanity is hereditary. You can catch it from your kids."

Erma Louise Bombeck, America's all time favorite humorist knew what she was talking about when she quoted those words.
She spent most of her life writing funny pieces that chronicled American Culture and family life. Her columns were in over 900 US newspapers in the 70's through the 80's and were later collected and turned into best selling books. She also put out a few books of her own that quickly became best sellers.
Erma Louise Bombeck spent her life making families laugh.
Only thirteen years old when she wrote her first newspaper column, Bombeck has written about the life of the house-wife. She was our girlfriend
(or our mother's girlfriend) who walked in our pumps, carpooled to soccer and baked cookies. Blessed with the skill to make all the absurdities of being a home maker seem humorous and well worth it, Bombeck wrote candidly and personally,winning her the hearts of America.
She left us with optimism even if we did burn dinner.

holey moley ...I LOVE THIS

I am really feeling this ! and no, I'm not dishing out the $156.00 they are asking for it . If you want to though click here
I'm thinking, I can steal on of my sons sweatshirts and cut little holes to remix this look. I'd love to try this funky look.




Some one just found her summer project !!!!
I'm loving this tank. Except the $88 price tag...It seems like I can recreate this top! I'm thinking: basic tank with increases and straps . All I really need to do is to find a Lacy stitch pattern that won't become a brain drain and get to stitching...This is me...totally

Im not buying them, but I dang sure am making them...

Thanx Mrs. Carter for the inspiration you provide me here....No, I won't be dishing out $$$ to further the rise of your Dereon empire, but I know cute when I see it ...This is sexy and simple ...I LOVE IT and I WANT IT !
A crafty goodie too. All I need is a thrifted denim mini and some studs, a whole lot of studs(oh yea, and boy shorts too,I'm definitely going to need boy shorts)
Where am I going to rock this funky little skirt ? Well,I can rock it with hubby to the park, beach or perhaps when he comes home for lunch(wink)I can be barefoot and studded in the kitchen ...Who knows ????
The vest,the tee,and the skirt hit the 3 B criteria: basic, beautiful and bold!
I'm definitely going to re-mix this one !

my ego wants a large bag ...but i no longer do....

Killing my Big Bag love affair !

For the Spring I am stepping out of the comfort zone and trying three new things regarding my appearance :


wearing my Afro out and going vintage with my look
wearing a little girly face paint (cosmetics)
ditching my large hand bag for a itty-bitty one

I am a avid large bag wearer. This madness will stop though because I can't ever find my things.ever. Yea,that is crazy right? I been thinking it's time for GROWTH in this department(cause u can't change everything)
I never actually have my real essentials in the freaking bag and that is the ironic part. I get the large bag to make sure I always have everything, but in actuality everything I need is never in there just random junk, bills and school notices!

GETFUCKOUTTAHERE !

I know it will be hard , cause I want to take it all with me. I like to have my knitting project, a book to read, and my journal as extra things to do if time permits ..but really, time never permits. Its not like I commute or carpool and can just sit and read or knit and lately when I get to work I have found little time to craft( probably cause I'm looking at craft blogs and updating Twisted-sistah but that is another story entirely) The need to tote large bags around must be stemming from my ego...KILL THE EGO and let it go, I say ...I will do it! It will be for the best ! And I will get used to it.... eventually...
So moving forward If it can't fit in my little purse (that sounds so cute) then it's not coming....My purse will not be a hamper for the daily "stuff" I consume (or lose) .

DONE !


So I tagged Lady Bean with a meme :
(see my answers in the bold)
* Do you wear a small hand bag or carry a large tote and why?
I used to wear a large bag and just stopped today after realizing yet again that I had nothing I needed in there and I had to fight to find my keys*
What do you have in your purse right now that does NOT belong in there ?
3 lip glosses, a cell phone charger for another cell phone than what I am using that is currently in need of a charge (go figure), pages from my daily calendar, clear hair comb, son's chap stick, random receipts, pics I printed form the net, various cards that are laying about the bottom of the bag, 2 lighters,*
What do you NEED to have in your purse:
my id, cash, keys, lip gloss and face powder

inquiring mamas wanna know !

# 5 The Afro Sistah

Not only a fashion statement,
the Afro is a symbol of freedom, black power, pride, rebellion and self love.
One can not help but stop and stare or do a double take when they see a fluffy halo of wooly hair surrounding a sista's cocoa face.



This classic look became a mainstream hairstyle in the late 50's when Cicely Tyson rocked the style for the first time on national television. The Afro was more frugal than fashionable when it originated, yet it quickly became "the black hairdo" and many great entertainers, athletes and faces in fashion of the late 60's-80's sported the timeless style.












Though the Afro provided sisters with a natral, beautiful low maintenance style, there were many that opposed such "free" hair, creating controversy from salons to dinner tables.




We can thank the likes of Pam Grier, Marsha Hunt, Angel Davis, and many other cocoa mamas for bringing this style into the mainstream.



The Afro is one of my favorite styles. This natural look is vintage and sweet with a rebellious edginess that can be worked into a lot of different contemporary looks. You can rock an afro from the beach to the boardroom, with bell bottoms or heels, chiffon or leather and always be chic. This basic yet bold style carries strong appeal and is great for penny pinching fashionistas. You will get looked at, you may be approached, and some one will randomly call you “Lauren, Foxy Brown or Erykah Badu" Just smile, for they know not what they do...This Afro is all about you!

status update : not happy

why is blogger aacting so crazy right now ???

#4 knitting is E.Z.

Out of her love and discipline for knitting and the need for income Elizabeth Zimmerman created School house Press.


Her business grew from humble wool sales to the famous TV series, books and the infamous knitting camp where future knitting greats are born. She is one of the original rebel-bad-ass-knitters who ALWAY knit in public (K.I.P) with no shame or apology!!!

Elizabeth Zimmerman posses ed a certain ease when it came to knitting. She was an independent knitter that rarely depended on patterns and instructions of another.
Through her travels she picked up knit tricks and tips from European knitting fore mothers, such as continental style knitting and eagerly passed on her knowledge to American knitters once she settled into the US. She began to sow her knitting seeds, soon sending out patterns for publications and working up knitting "uninventions" (she believed there was nothing new under the sun so called her inventions "unventions")like the I-cord and the one row button hole. EZ is responsible for revolutionizing American knitting with the promotion of circular needles and she is appreciated widely for establishing the parentage system that enabled knitters to try their hands at creating their own patterns with simple mathematical concepts.
In the mid-1960s, she hosted The Busy Knitter, a syndicated public television show slowly taking her position as an icon of the knitting world.

"I shall have failed in my endeavor if you copy my designs too slavishly; they are intended only as a guide, so be your own designer."

EZ generously supplied new knitters with a guiding light and new direction when she began to publish her patterns and knitting books. Today, her books and techniques are still used and honored. One can see her "unventions" such as the "I-Cord" and the one-row button hole in everyday patterns. Her instructional books such as Knitting With out Tears encourages knitters to "please knit the way you prefer" was an instant success because it armed knitters with knowledge that released them from pattern bondage and they no longer had to blindly follow knitting instruction and be hopeful it all came out right. Zimmerman gave us back control of the wool and we will forever "Knit on!"

change is good but growth is better ...

Ahhhh, so frustrating it has become ..Going into stores and seeing things I like ...and not buying anything. Even the cheap stuff !
ahhh I know I am a better woman for it , but am I really ? not going for what I want , like ,and some times need is not selflessness or honorable, it's stupid and neglectful...Especially when I don't buy a shirt, a particularly sexy tank top I saw in the mall .. a lacey tank top in black , one in white( damn, I'd make 'em hurt in that white one) but I didn't get it ...Next day , when hunger pangs hit me at work I spend that $$ on (not nearly spice enough )Chinese take out...That shirt would have looked better on me than them extra greasy calories did...This is one of the habits I'm breaking out of by cooking more tasty and healthy things in my own kitchen...
I have great ideas, big ideas, visions even....then BOOM, vanished ideas....deferred dreams! Something comes up, an unexpected overdraft fee or automatic withdrawal prevents a purchase, or I'll have a great outfit with no shoes, a sexy top with the wrong bra, I spend a day knee deep in housework and handmade cooking that would make your grandmamma proud , only to show up late for my night job because I can't find my work badge that I know I left in my tote bag just last night (what do I do all day at home, bake and knit ? )
IDK, my life is very ironic and lately it been too fast paced... I don't like that ....
Yet , I try to remain optimistic because everyday is new and beautiful despite the ugly or unknown...so I try. Because in a world of perfect bloggers blogging about their perfect lives with perfect pics to prove it ,there is me... a quiet voice of an imperfect blogger. These things can be as detrimental to a woman's ego as Fashion magazines are to a young girl's view of herself....I see such great blog illustrating pics I'd like to take, crafts I'd like to make, fun I'd like to things I'd like to try, and clothes I'd like to wear...I often wonder how the hell do these people find the time to do all this, where does the money come from to afford a collection of (insert designer name here ) designer shoes ? How does their bedroom , living rooms and bathrooms look at this very very moment? Is it clean ? Do their families love them, Do they ever feel lonely ....and then I stop, I catch my self before I become a mess and begin to compare my self to a blogger I don't even know...Hell , that "blogger" might be a killer with a cover-up. ya never know....So I stop my self ...realizing, I should not give a damn about a next man's toilet bowl unless I'm sitting on it !
I stop because I remember that I am truly a perfect handcrafted design of God, aren't we all in a our own special way ? I'm being too hard on my self? So what If I was truly one of the last ones picked in gym ....I'm grown now ...and yes some times I feel like I'm having a bad gym day all over again but this too shall pass and it does... I remind my self that even adults go through growing pains...ouch !
Despite this funky, ranty, little post I had a great day in the kitchen ( up until I couldn't find the frigging work badge and even then I grinned and accepted the pain and reality that I'd be late)
So tonight when I nuked the left overs of my take out ( shut up) and read the fortune cookie I ignored when the meal was fresh I smiled.
It told me that my lucky numbers are 43,53,24,20,41,56 and went further to say:
" Your life does not get better by chance, It gets better by change ."
Again ...that word : change....CHANGE.... cHaNgE !!!! I think that I have spent so much time trying to change and not changing that I now try to grow...cause you are what you are ...change is good , but growth is better ....
All in all I still need to grooooow....stretch .....and grow some more.....


I did find my battery for the camera though....So I can post pics again...
Now If I could only find my bra ....

Hey Shortie !

Kardashians Bebe

Micro boy shorts . Love .Love. Love the simplicity . This is from the Bebe Kardashians line ...
I'm loving how it is falls on her skinny hips. I'm a skinny hip chic, so this works for me..
If done right a little drape or sag at the waist can be sexy ...It says" I'm too sexy for a belt"
This is what I'm talking about when I say sexy-simplicity ...basic and bold...look at that neck accessory !!!
yea, this get's a check plus...and a co-sign.

Mama, I want some boy shorts !!!

peace

#3 Julia Child : Lady of the ladle

I think of Julia Child often especially when I embark on new recipes. I am a late bloomer in the kitchen as she was, so I feel especially drawn to her and inspired by her appetite for not only food but life in her later years.
Julia Child was an American who through her career was able to travel and enjoy her life in ways that many women don't today or even yesterday. She was career focused and independent and waited until later in life to marry. Not having any children granted her a certain carefree freedom and lifestyle that many "family" women did not experience. Julia Child was born Julia McWilliams, on August 15, 1912, in Pasadena, California. She was a very tall girl, growing into a towering woman who stood over 6 foot tall. Julia, however, wasn't exactly what you would call fashion runway/ model material. It was her spirit, charm and her curious fun nature that captivated people wherever she went. Despite her physical awkwardness Julia Child was a real lady. Her fashions were elegant and tasteful for her age and the era she lived in. She is know for donning a simple strand of pearls, skirts and heels while in the kitchen.
(a vintage kitchen kitty , huh?)

She choose a career as an office worker in a government intelligence agency but soon they realized she was better suited for "other " duties. Julia was then granted a secret spy position for the Office of Strategic Services which later became the CIA. This shocking information was not leaked until 2007 when confidential government files were made public. Child, who died in 2004 at the age of 91 met Paul Child during her 30's through their work for for Office of Strategic Services. They fell in love and married. Paul was a loving and kind partner who encouraged Julia to " find her thing" and supported her in every endeavor from her hat making efforts to bridge playing. It was a trip to France that forever changed Julia's life. There she fell in love with French cuisine and sought after directions and French recipes in English. She was unable to find the sought after French/English recipe books but did enroll in cooking school gaining the skills she'd need to make it in the kitchen . Later she would fine-tune and share these same skills,eventually helping other chefs in their own kitchen as well . While living abroad ,offering cooking classes and enjoying French life Child was fortunate to meet two cook book authors who needed her help in editing their book. Editing and collaborating on the cook book was the beginning of Julia child's career. The trio worked heard and finally the book was finished with the help of Julia.



Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). Published in the U.S., the 800-page book became a standard guide for the culinary community and was considered a groundbreaking masterpiece. Once back in the US, living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Julia promoted the book through Boston public broadcasting station. It was once when she cooked an omelet while on air that the cooking community embraced her and wanted more of her positive attitude, her wit, and her down to earth cooking approach. She was asked to return and was given her own air time for a radio series on cookery. (She was a pioneer pod caster !)
Julia did many shows for her growing radio audience in the late 60's. In the late 70's into the 80's Julia made many television appearances and met her audience in their living rooms with her very own cooking shows Julia Child and Company (1978), Julia Child and More Company (1980), and Dinner at Julia's (1983). She was not the first cook on TV , but was a brilliant pioneer in this field.


Before her death to kidney failure Julia Child, a self-made woman, won the love and respect for changing the cooking scene. She received several high honors, awards and recognition for her culinary contributions. Today she is remembered through her books,online videos and blogs, her syndicated talk shows and a movie. Yes, In 2007 a movie Julie & Julia was created and well received, earning nomination such as the Oscar and the Golden Globe. The movie is a cute depiction of Julia's Childs life told through the eyes of a cooking blogger who challenges her self to cook through life's drama, and blog about it
(bloggers will love this film for sure, even if you don't cook!)
Julia Child will forever live on. She is an inspiring lady who found her true calling in her later years, and by doing so assisted many cooks to walk back in the kitchen, strap on their aprons, grab a wooden ladle and shout " Bon Appetite! "

want more Julia ? Get ya cook on and enjoi!

# 2 . Eleanor Roosevelt

Behind every strong man there is a stronger woman !!!

Former president Franklin D. Roosevelt owes a great deal of his political success to his wife Eleanor Roosevelt. She is best known for being the first lady of the United States from 1933 until 1945. Her main focus during her prime years was the betterment of her world.
Using her title and position she worked hard for the advancement of women,children and African Americans too. She worked tirelessly for working women and fought against child labor while holding press conferences, writing her daily newspaper columns and magazine articles as means of communication and reaching out especially to women. Her writings were typically on the topics of education, poverty, rural life, unemployment, and the role of women. Eleanor's daily column, "My Day," was in print from 1936 until 1962. It was similar to a diary of her daily activities.( a blogger, huh!!??)

During her husband's twelve year presidency, Eleanor held over three hundred press conferences. Men were not allowed into her meetings.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was a humanitarian who contributed positively to the world through her knitting also.

She was often photographed knitting for the World War II effort or at least toting her knitting bag. She encouraged knitting efforts in the US, encouraging Americans to knit for our boys at war.
(love me some her)
When she found out her husband was less than faithful she remained committed to the family(5 children), the future,and did not want to tarnish Franklin's political career. She stopped having a physical relationship with Franklin while she remained his friend, his support and even his stand in when he grew ill...( Hillary Clinton????) Not known for her looks, her good works and generosity did all the talking. Her inner beauty shone bright.
She died a great and noble lady in 1962.