Written on 7:53 PM by gracefully discovering:
It's almost 8pm and I forgot about mushy monday...good thing I remembered before it was too late!
This weeks mushy monday post goes to.........................my baby Ryan. I know he has been terrible in the past weeks chewing up my walls and stuff...but today when I came home he had thrown up in the crate. We noticed that he had some worms in his poop last week and I went to the vet and got the pill to kill it....but i'm not so sure it worked...because they were there again today....which might be the cause of the vomit
Anyway- when I walked in the house, he started crying to get out. I let him out, cleaned the crate...and just felt really bad for him.
I felt kinda helpless because I don't know what is causing him to be so sickly....he's had something or another since we've gotten him. I feel like it's partly our fault because we should make sure that he is protected from these sorts of things.
Anyway, when he came back in from using it- I just let him lay in my lap for about an hour...like a mommy would do her sick child :)-
My baby is sick and there is not much I can do about it. I am tired of giving the Vet our money...so we are gonna wait this one out and see if he gets better!
So my mushy monday goes to my sickly child....whom I love so much!
P.S I went to Hobby Lobby today and got some doggie scrapbook materials! I'm excited to document this time in our lives...with our new addition to the family!
Written on 11:37 AM by gracefully discovering:
So today I turned the big 25! As my dear friend Sarita says " I'm finally legitimate"
It's really rainy here today- due to Hurricane Dolly...so i'm not really feeling the bright sunshiney mood that I should have on such a special day as such!
I've received countless facebook birthday messages, text messages and phone calls from people all over the Country that love me! (or maybe just like me...or maybe just saw that it was my bday on facebook and thought it'd be nice to tell me to have a happy one!) But nonetheless, I am feeling the love on this very rainy dreary day!
So, i've told you all before how I have the best husband in the world right? Right- so my husband...who is the best husband in the world, got me this James Avery charm bracelet that I have been wanting for a while. He says that this bracelet will help tell the story of our lives because he will get a charm for every significant time in my life. So my bracelet now has a #25 charm, because he got it for my 25th bday, a heart that says " you will always be in my heart" because he says that he always carries me in his heart everywhere he goes; and a dog bone...for our first child Ryan! I am so excited about this gift because it is so sentimental. My best friend Mesita told me that I have a really good man..and he is so romantic...and I told her that I already knew that!!! :)-
I look forward to seeing what other charms he gets me...and I wonder how long its gonna take for it to get full. I was getting may hair done last night (picture of that..scroll down) and the girl that does my hair..said that on her wedding day her husband gave her a James Avery charm bracelet and has given her a charm every year on their anniversary! It's been 9 years and her bracelet still isn't full! But I think its so beautiful....anyway- here is a picture of my bracelet...and once its full...not sure how many years from now that will be...but i'll post another picture for all to see! 
As mentioned earlier I went to get my hair done last night! Went in for a color and trim...came out with a color and a cut! Got my hair cut in a very cute bob (bc she says that my ends were split bad...and they were...but probably not as bad as she made it seem). I love my hair cut though...even though the hubby wants me to let it grow out! I told him that it won't grow out if its not healthy! I was worried that he wouldn't like it...BUT HE DID! So that made me feel better about loving it so much!
This picture was taken this morning at work...yeah I know..you all are probably wondering why i'm at work having a photo shoot....but hey! A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do, right?
This picture really doesn't do my cut justice...but it was the best i could do by myself. Felt kinda weird asking someone to come and take a picture of me! Hopefully, i'll get a better one soon!
Written on 9:27 AM by gracefully discovering:
Today's mushy Monday post goes to my cousin Ti Parker. She is my big cousin (just a few years older than I) but when we were little..I used to always run behind her and get on her nerves...following her everywhere she went! She even got in trouble one time for leaving me because I told my auntie that she was being mean and left me for her cousin on her dads side!
Anyway- over the years we have gotten really close. We went through a rough patch a few years back...but I am so happy to say that things are back to normal now. I don't think she realizes how much I love her and value our relationship. We were ALWAYS each others sisters that we never had. I am so blessed to have her in my life.
She's getting married in a few months and I am soooooooooooo happy for her! I cannot wait to witness the day that she walks down the aisle- just as beautiful as ever and become one with her long time partner! Her fiance' is in the army and they are being reassigned soon. I have this hopeful theory that they will be stationed in Houston...or somewhere in Texas so we can be closer and I can watch their son (my godson) grow up. I have never had the privilege of being around him for more than a few days at a time...and I would love to have that opportunity!
I just want my cousin to know how much I love her....how proud I am of her for being a GREAT mommy, a hardworking employee and (i hope) a nice, sweet loving, caring, mushy fiance! (inside inside joke..she will understand).
Oh and I have asked the Lord to forgive her and Geno for lying about the Scene It game...even though they are trying to live their lives right...some old habits just don't die! WE (the Richardsons) won that game...not y'all! So please get over it! Rematch when y'all get settled in your new home in Houston! (hey a girl can have faith!)
Posted in
Mushy Mondays
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Written on 8:44 AM by gracefully discovering:
Yesterday at Sunday dinner we were reminiscing on the days of food stamps (before there was the EBT card...and you had a book of stamps..that looked like fake money!), welfare checks, section-8 housing, government cheese, powdered milk, butter and eggs! Many of us at the table had grown up in families where welfare was the only way we survived...without it, I know for sure my family would not have eaten, paid rent or paid the bills.
After my parents separated in 1990....our house burned down and we moved to Mechanicsville, an inner city project of Atlanta. That is where I experienced my first run at shame for being poor. Even though EVERYONE over there was poor and on welfare...it was just something about going to the corner store and buying stuff with food stamps. I used to BEG my mama not to send me to the store with food stamps. This is how bad it was- if I knew someone in the store, I would walk around until they were gone before I went to the counter with our groceries...even though I just saw them buy their stuff with food stamps!
This was such an embarrassing time for me- I'm not even really sure why. But being on public assistance just had a bad stigma to it!
My brother really didn't have a problem with it- I don't think...bc I never heard him complaining. But I had countless days of begging to the point of tears for my mom to go to the store her damn self to get the overpriced bread, milk, cheese, meat, or whatever else we were buying with a book of stamps!
Now that I look back- it wasn't all that bad! I mean we never were hungry and we always had a roof over our heads! I actually am thankful for the assistance that we received.
But I do believe that some people get too comfortable with public assistance that it hinders them from wanting to better themselves. I mean, if you can eat, sleep, pay your bills, buy your kids clothes...FOR FREE...then why would you want to go and get a job (that probably won't pay you as much). I haven't looked at the recent welfare reform requirements. I'm pretty sure that in order to receive assistance, one has to have or job or be looking for a job. But let me double check that I'll update ya later.
Some people really need assistance to feed, clothe, and house their children. But some people really are abusing the system and need to get it together- so that we can break the generational cycle of poverty! Let's teach our kids to be self sufficient, independent, hard-working and diligent so that when they are older, they will not need public assistance. None of my mothers children have relied on public assistance since we have been grown and that is a blessing. But it surely helped us out while we were children!
Written on 10:03 AM by gracefully discovering:
My wall...that he chewed through..........
a closer look....all the way to the metal...this had to hurt his teeth!
so...hubby was in the living room...just chillen...and realized that not only did he chew the wall...but at some point...he chewed through our NEW chair..."the pop chair" as my mother in-law calls it!
yep....he sure did!
this is his "room".....but no more roaming around....he has to go to jail now!
i'm locked up....they won't let me out!
Posted in
Ryan
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Written on 12:49 PM by gracefully discovering:
So I walk in the house last night- excited to see Ryan because I bought him some new rawhide toys! He apparently is teething and needed some harder-more tough toys than the ones we had previously gotten him.
I go into his little space- which we have created for him in the hallway..marked off by a gate and his crate....so I go to take him out of the crate and realized that this little boy has chewed through my wall! THROUGH MY WALL! He chewed through the paint, drywall and all the way to the metal scrap. I couldn't believe it! I called Nick immediately, because I figured he had already seen it and cleaned up the mess- because there weren't any pieces on the ground. Well hubby had no idea what I was talking about...so Ryan must have eaten the wall! (is that going to make him sick??)
Anyway- once daddy got home..Ryan got a beating and was on punishment for the rest of the night...only to be forced to look at his new rawhide toy- that he couldn't play with. But we put it close enough to his crate so that he would be pissed off that he couldn't get to it. It was the funniest thing ever watching him pawing and licking through the crate to try and get the rawhide bone! We got a kick out of that. I think Nick recorded it on his phone..so once I figure out how to get that on here...I'll be sure to post it.
I still can't believe he did that! He may be sentenced to the crate forever...because I can't have him chewing my walls up!
Posted in
Ryan
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Written on 9:28 AM by gracefully discovering:
me (on the phone): hey babe...when are you coming home because I cooked a really good meal.
him: be home in about 30 mins gotta help ____ do something real quick
me: okay well speed it up...I'm starving!!
he walks into the kitchen: food smells good, what is it?
me: it's a surprise!
him: what is it?
me: it's lamb chops! have you ever had lamb chops
him: yeah
me: oh I didn't know that...well I've never had them
him: babe, the food looks great and smells delicious and all....but....WE DON'T EAT RED MEAT!
me: but it's not beef or pork...we don't eat beef or pork!
him: no babe....we don't eat red meat!
me: i asked the man in the store if this was beef or pork and he said no!!
him: i know..its not beef or pork but its red meat.
me: well we are eating this tonight!!!
So while I thought that I was giving us an alternative to chicken....i messed up our no red meat diet! even though I really thought we were just giving up beef and pork...but I guess the no red meat thing kinda makes some sense!
Anyway- dinner was magnificent according to my husband....so to hell with the red meat diet for one night!
Written on 9:17 PM by gracefully discovering:
since January 2008....the hubby and I have given up beef and pork. So all we really have been eating is CHICKEN, turkey and fish...oh and more CHICKEN!
Because I'm tired of chicken... I decided to try and make something different. I have never eaten lamb before...so I made lamb chops, potatoes, onions and bell peppers all drenched in a Merlot wine sauce and cream of mushroom...and some green beans!
Mighty tasty- if I must say so myself!
I think I'm gonna continue to look for more dishes because I can't eat anymore baked chicken...no matter how you make it or try and spice it up...it's still baked chicken!
Written on 9:35 AM by gracefully discovering:
So I have decided that every
Monday I am going to do a mushy post dedicated to someone that I love...or something that I really like. So the first mushy
Monday post goes to the man that I love more than anything. The man who is so thoughtful and compassionate and genuinely cares about my wants and needs as a human being....as his wife.....as a black woman!
Sometimes....I don't think the words I LOVE YOU are strong enough for the feelings that I have for him.....actually they don't half way describe the butterflies that I still get in my stomach when he kisses me after 6 years, or the way his smile lights me up on the inside...or the way his real and raw sarcasm makes me mad...and then happy because it is who he is. I love you doesn't describe the way I feel when he holds me and comforts me when I'm sad or had a hard day. I love you doesn't explain his selflessness towards me and mine towards him. I wish I could find a few words that would sum it all up for me...but this is so complicated...so real...so rare...so amazingly beautiful.
When reading through an article in the paper about LOVE....I think the closest thing that was able to sum up part of my feelings was this:
Agape love - unconditional love that is always giving and impossible to take or be a taker. It devotes total commitment to seek your highest best no matter how anyone may respond. This form of love is totally selfless and does not change whether the love given is returned or not. This is the original and only true form of love.
My husband is my best friend, my lover, my confidant, my provider, my protector, my best critic, my hugest supporter, and the love of my life. So today's mushy Monday post goes to
Mr. Norwood Nicholas Richardson
because these are the only words that I can find to describe my feelings..
I LOVE YOU..I AM IN LOVE WITH YOU...AND I WILL FOREVER AND EVER BE TRULY DEVOTED TO YOU!
Posted in
Mushy Mondays
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Written on 10:28 AM by gracefully discovering:
So I had this outlandish idea that a french pedicure in France would be WAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than a french pedi in the States! So Jane and I searched around Paris looking for a shop to get a french mani & pedi in none other than France...I mean how many times are we gonna be able to say that we got a french mani and pedi done by real French people.
HA! well this is who did our feet!! 
They were from Hong Kong and spoke very fluent french....no english though! so it was kinda hard asking her why in the hell I had to pay 18 euro just for her to polish my toes...no scrub or nuthin...no that was 36 euro for a "real" pedicure! I was pissed off...because 18 euro is more like $26...for a damn polish change! Anyone who knows me...knows that i am very frugal! and the idea of paying $26 to get a freaking French pedicure in France by people who weren't even French and not even being able to get the bottom of my feet scrubbed....kinda pissed me off. But I was cool. The little girl was really cute and drew pictures to try and help me understand what she was really asking or telling me...we never did get to a clear point of understanding..I just shook my head and smiled...and said MERCI!
Posted in
france
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Written on 9:44 AM by gracefully discovering:
Scena
rio: Jane, Helen and myself have decided that we are going out to a club in Paris. We have picked out our outfits...drank a bottle of wine and are ready to hit the streets. Well before we do all of that...of course we have to take a shower and get the days funk off of us. Jane gets dressed...so does Helen...it's finally my turn. I go into the bathroom (which was small as eva) turn the shower on...undress and begin to take off my wedding ring (because I don't shower with it on)...and as im taking it off...my wedding band leaps off of my finger...into the air about 3 feet....and into the freaking shower and down the drain. SIGH.....then here comes all sorts of obscenities as I try to dig down the drain...first my fingers, then tweezers...to get my wedding band. I was unsuccessful.
So....I lost my wedding band in Paris...down the damn drain of a hotel bathroom....lost forever.
We indeed still went out that night and had a fabulous time at Le Queen...which I just found out yesterday was a gay club...lmao! but apparently it was ladies night!
When i told Nick about my ring..his response was "oh well, we will just have to get you another one."
Okay...if he wasn't trippin...then neither would I. as for now...im just rocking my ring...without my band. Our 2 year anniversary is less than a month away...so maybe i'll get a new one then and have him say our vows over and the whole part about the ring...and then put it on my finger just like at our wedding!
This is pt. 1 of my many France stories to come. stay tuned
Posted in
france
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Written on 9:25 AM by gracefully discovering:
Okay, so I have visited France and had a marvelous time....marvelous!
I have so much to share...that it will probably take some time...so i'm gonna break it up into series.
Currently, i'm trying to post all 707 pictures on photobucket...but that's taking a bit more time than I expected...so hopefully I will get those photos out to peeps before the weekend is over...bc did I mention...IM BACK AT WORK!
Okay so first things first....I will focus on the myths that I posted prior to my trip.
1. YES it is hella expensive in France. A can soda was 2 euro...which equates to about $3.50.
2. YES, (maybe not all) but a whole helluva lot of people SMOKE stinky cigs in France.
3. Some people were mean and rude...but I didn't take it as all French people were mean...just like in America..we have some mean and rude people that you just wanna smack....so its the same there. Some people were pretty nice actually!
4.No French people don't hate Americans...they HATE GEORGE BUSH! Which isn't too different from many Americans...so im not trippin!
5. I didn't really notice the hairy underarms...I was looking though... so I can't really dispel this one just yet!
6. French people do drink a lot of wine...hell wine was cheaper than a can of soda...so that should tell you something! (i didn't see any kids drinking though)
7. Do you need to speak French....kinda because I ran into a few peeps that could speak English..but very limited...so it was hard to communicate.
8. YES some of them were funky...but not all! So I guess I can't say all French people stink...but i did catch a whiff of a few stinky pinky's!
Posted in
france
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