Sad News – Sean Taylor

On the way into work this morning, I heard on the radio that Washington Redskins Safety Sean Taylor had passed. There were encouraging signs the night before with him, but God called him home this morning. Here is a link to the Washington Post report.

I never met Sean Taylor nor ever saw him in passing. Heck, I’m hardly a Redskins fan. This morning, I think about HOW he died: protecting his one-year old daughter and girlfriend from an intruder. He did what any MAN would do.

He and his girlfriend were reportedly awakened by a noise in the house. When Sean got up from his bed and grabbed a machete (which he kept for protection, we are told) the intruder burst through the bedroom door and two shots were fired. One shot hit the wall and the other tore through Taylor’s leg, hitting an artery, causing him to lose a lot of blood.

Now, we all know that Taylor hasn’t been the law’s or reporter’s best friend and some may say, “Well, you live that life….” or whatever. Let me stop you, right there. Truth be told, if God were to judge us and we look back over our lives, NONE OF US deserve to be here and we’d all be gone from this earth. So before you begin to judge another’s life and HOW they lived it (which NONE of us know another’s TRUTH), look in the mirror. Has your life been crystal clear? Have you NEVER sinned.

A sin is a sin is a sin. There is no such thing as a “little sin” or a “big sin”. We’ve all done it, but God forgives us.

God: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”
Me: “That sure is a big pile of rocks back here”

Since I KNOW all the “Super Saints” of the world will be out to judge this man (and anybody else) for their faults, all of those who are have never done any dirt and are pure and clean and without fault can all stay in the room together…last one cut off the light………..

This man died because of another’s devilish act. End of story. A father, son, friend, brother, boyfriend and teammate has been taken away from those lives he affected.

I will keep his family and friends in prayer. I ask that you do the same.

We all could use a little self-reflection and prayer. I pray that God gives every life he touched, STRENGTH to make it from here until we are called home.

Acne – Different Causes, Different Solutions

A while back, some ladies on an area email list discussed adult acne, etc. I suffered from acne from the time I was 12 until I was 25. My acne was from an elevated hormone level (DHEA).

Well, I found my BAD ACNE picture from January 1996. This picture has not been retouched or anything. This was the SIDE of my face and part of the reason why I didn’t like to take pictures at that point in my life. This was the WORST that my acne had ever gotten (it was getting worse and worse, every year since I was 12).

Before you think it, YES, I took Accutane. STAY AWAY from that stuff. To this day, I promise you that IT (Accutane) is the reason why I have ulcerative colitis, to this day! I NEVER had stomach issues until I took this medicine in 1991/1992 time frame. There is NO acne in the world, that bad, that I’d advise someone to take that crap. No, I am not a doctor, but I have been through every antibiotic, topcial and oral medication known to man (pre 1997) for acne!

Back to the message at hand, since no of the prior methods of getting rid of my acne worked with other doctors (I was on antibiotics, topical creams that BURNED my face (Retin-A, Differin, etc.), most of my life), my dermatologist knew that it had to be something internal. She did a blood panel and found out that I had an elevated hormone level (DHEA). She put me spironolactone/aldactone and birth control pills.

When DHEA is elevated in WOMEN, it can cause acne around the jawline and neck. When it’s TOO high (which wasn’t the case with me), women’s voices drop, and they develop chest hair and facial hair.

Spironolactone/aldactone LOWERS DHEA levels. Doctors give it people who’ve had congestive heart failure and high blood pressure, BUT, they also give it to men who’ve had sex changes and want to be women.

Within 2 weeks, my face stopped breaking out, but the scars were still there. I used alpha hydroxy wash and moisturizer to fade the scars. That took about a year to fade. Mind you, this treatment was given to me in the fall of 1997…..

Now, I use Peter Thomas Roth products to maintain my skin. Yes, I am still on the medications and will have to be until I get married and decide to conceive children.

I found an UP CLOSE picture of my face (from late 2004….)….no makeup.
I writing this to say everyone that suffers from adult acne does not suffer from it for the same reasons. Not everyone’s “cure” is the same……(allergies, hormones, etc.). I say go see a dermatologist to find out WHY your face is breaking out and don’t just go through a lot of over the counter stuff that could possibly do long term damage to your skin (burns, etc.).

I have yet to find a dermatologist in the MD/DC/VA that gives the same treatment (NO LIE)! I go back to my dermatologist in NC every 6 months. SAD, but true.

Doctors – Where Do Their Hearts Lie

This is the kind of money-for-medicine crap that scares me with SOME (not all) doctors.

My sister once told me that when she meets people that say they are interested in medicine, she asks them why. If they say because they want to help people, she asks them about becoming a teacher. When they mention the money, she tells them to find another profession because if they are entering medicine for the money, they are in the WRONG profession and that you have got to LIVE, LOVE and BREATHE medicine to be a good physician and not look for the money……those days are OVER unless you go into surgery and then half of your salary goes in malpractice insurance.

I love my sister.

You Can "Lunch" On Costco, If You Want To

I have a few friends that aren’t fans of “big box” stores. I, for one, don’t support nor shop at WalMart or Sams. I am becoming a very social conscious consumer. I don’t like WalMart’s practices. I don’t like in where they purchase their items, how they treat their employees, on top of the fact that EVERY TIME I USED to go there looking for something, it was always out of stock. BOOOOOOOOOOO!

WalMart has always “bullied” their vendors into giving them (WalMart, that is) rock bottom prices and stellar services. Hey, I am not mad at their business skills, but at some point, you’ve got to think about HOW you treat people. Money or not. It is so bad that now companies are saying NO to WalMart, too (read here).

They also keep A GREAT majority of their work force at part-time so they won’t have to offer and pay for health benefits.

Enough about them, I LOVE Costco. I don’t like it when it’s crowded, though. You have to know when to go, but I LOVE their selection of EVERYTHING (food, electronics, etc.). They even have my hard-to-find snacks at a lower cost.

Hold on to your horses and brace yourself for this…..I am a woman and I HATE shopping. Yes, you heard that right. I’d rather go in with a list, get what I have to get and be gone. I drive my girlfriends CRAZY with that because they will “shop til they drop” and I’ll be sitting in the front of the store, waiting for them to come out. I just don’t like it. I’d rather spend my time doing something else. Now, I will get on the web, click a few times and be done. Shoot, if Costco offered everything in the store on the web and all (not some, but ALL) the grocery stores delivered, heck I’d probably NEVER leave the house to shop!

Now, “big box” stores have, historically, been known to have 90% of their consumers be a part of the “non-elite” shopper. NOT…… I know differently. I see the clientelle at the Costco in Maryland and Virginia. I came across a great article today in the NY Times that speaks to just that.

Little secret….I love their hot dog (um, this would be a REAL Franks hot dog) and a coke for $1.50! Not the healthiest thing in the world, but every once in a while.

So, ya’ll can “lunch” on Costco if you like…..this is the perfect time of year to hit them up, especially if you entertain. Happy Costco-ing!

bliss softening socks

So, some of you know that I had foot surgery back in the summer. Well, the doctor visits and physical therapy are all over now (YIPEE)!!!

BUT

The feet, during this whole, um……..healing process…….were left in a “less than flattering” condition. I mean, I am using Vitamin E oil on the scar, but the rest of the foot…….

Well, I found the Bliss softening socks and foot cream…….I am in love. SERIOUSLY!! My feet feel like a baby’s butt!! NO KIDDING!!! These things are GREAT! My feet look BETTER than they did before the surgery (well, the surgery helped, too). You can get the socks and cream at beauty product insanity store, Sephora.

Here’s to SMOOTH feet….

Smooches!! (via hautemommastuff)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

What am I doing? HECK, what I do EVERY Thanksgiving morning, since I was a little girl, watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade (okay, I overslept a bit this morning, but I am catching up now…….gotta love TIVO)!

It Really Is THAT SIMPLE

So, I get this email from a listserv that I am on:

No Angel For Eddie
Last week Mel B and Eddie Murphy’s lawyers met in an LA courtroom to work out child support and visitation rights for their daughter, Angel Iris Murphy. Mel was planning to take Angel to the courthouse to meet Eddie for the first time and was disappointed that he chose not to make a personal appearance and downright furious when the case had to be adjourned for 3 months because Eddie refused to submit a support offer. However, he and his lawyers made one thing abundantly clear. There will be no visitation…PERIOD. Eddie does not want to see Angel..ever.

So then there are comments floating all over the web about, “Oh, how could Eddie do this” and “She framed him!” and “What if she lied to him and he told her he never wanted another baby” and “He is just trife”….yadda yadda yadda…..

We can ALL sit back and look at this with whatever eye we want to, but, again, WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE?!

My opinion? Let’s be clear a few things:

Now, I have thought from DAY ONE that, if this was Eddie’s child, Eddie was a chump for bailing out and not claiming this child. Point #1: If he never wanted another child, he should have never slept with her, PERIOD!! No ifs, ands, buts, huhs, or whatever else!

Point #2: Ms. Tracey Edmonds………WHY would you want to be with a man that won’t even claim his own child……..

Point #3: Whether Mel B. “framed” him or not, WE ALL know the possible outcomes when a person sleeps with someone, protected or not. If a person is not ready to handle ALL possible consequences when you sleep with someone (disease, pregnancy, sickness, etc.), GET UP and MOVE ABOUT YOUR DAY……..FOR REAL!

Let’s be real, people. I am sick and tired of men saying, “She said she was on XXXXX” and/or the woman saying, “I don’t know what happened……..”. As ADULTS, this is part of life. Everything you do has a number of possible outcomes. If you can’t handle that ).000001% chance, don’t do it………..geez…….

It really is THAT SIMPLE.

I LOVE my alma mater!! TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY!

Dog gone it! We have done it, yet, AGAIN!

Now, let me give you a little history here, in the five years that was there (back up, now…….engineering was a five year program when I was there..all 144 hours of which NO pre-calculus math courses counted!), our football was off and on (more off). Mind you, we are the hold the title of winning more games than ANY other HBCU(not percentage, number of games……the late Eddie Robinson holds the title of percentatge of wins). This was all before MY CLASS arrived on campus, okay?!

Of course, AFTER we all graduate, Tuskegee decides to start having a WINNING football program, again <>.

This year is no different, we are UNDEFEATED and licking our chops at Alabama State to destroy, yet, another homecoming for them. See, the Turkey Day Classic is the longest running HBCU football classic. No, not the Bayou Classic or any of those other games, but the Turkey Day Classic (which is also ASU’s homecoming). It all began in 1924 when Alabama State College and Tuskegee Institute met in the Turkey Day Classic in Montgomery, Alabama. From that, all other “classics” grew (respect your history!).

Oh, if you’d like to view the personal butt-whooping that will handed to the ASU Hornets, see here:
THE ADDRESS FOR THE WEBCAST OF THE TURKEY DAY FOOTBALL CLASSIC – Tuskegee (10-0) vs. Alabama State (5-5): http://www.wsfa.com. THIS IS CHANNEL 12(TV) OUT OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA. The game is slated to kickoff at 1:00 p.m. CT.

Now, to the accolades at hand:

SIAC ANNOUNCES 2007 FOOTBALL ALL CONFERENCE TEAM, ALL ACADEMIC TEAM & SUPERALTIVE AWARDS

….

yadda yadda yadda (go to the link and read it in full)

….

2007 ALL ACADEMIC FOOTBALL TEAM [bow]

QB Eric Palmer Tuskegee JR 3.90 Mechanical Engineering <—— can you say, "You’d betta go, boy?!"
DL Casper Kamau Kentucky State JR 3.86 Political Science
RB Jonathan Cunningham Benedict SO 3.83 Recreation
S Gavin Campbell Kentucky State SR 3.75 English/Political Science
DB Terrance McGhee Albany State SO 3.67 Biology
DB Linden Johnson Albany State JR 3.66 Engineering
WR Debreon Williams Stillman RFR 3.64 Mathematics
RB Wade Edwards Benedict RFR 3.57 Business Administration
QB Nathanial Samas Fort Valley State SO 3.56 Mathematics
WR Jeremy Cody Miles College SO 3.50 Education
DB Mario Fuller Albany State SO 3.50 Accounting

Now, I didn’t play a LICK of sports in college and I didn’t graduate with a GPA anywhere NEAR that! YOU GO, ERIC PALMER!!!

So, before (or during) your turkey chomping, tune your computers into the website above and watch some good football! Nothing like turkey and football…. Gobble gobble!

Geek=Nerd=MagnoliaDiva

ANYONE who knows me KNOWS that I LOVE technology, gadgets, etc.! Hey, I wasn’t an electrical engineering major for nothing! I LOVE the challenge of the industry and the constant change (not the same ole boring thing every day)!

I just saw one of the COOLEST shows on TV called It’s All Geek To Me! This show is straight up my alley!

I learned some pretty neat cell phone tricks today……looky looky

I am officially hooked and the show is now in the Tivo To-Do List (I love Tivo)!

Pick A Candidate

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