My Little Guy

November 9, 2002 is another day I remember extremely well.  That is the day my youngest son was born.  He was 5 1/2 weeks early.  It wasn't easy getting him here.  He almost didn't make it.  

Five pounds, three ounces and 18 inches long.  He was so small, but that was a good size for a preemie.  They said they were going to observe him for four hours because he was so small.  They took him away after I held him for a few minutes.  I thought they would be bringing him back to me and I fell asleep.  (Giving birth is hard work, it was almost 3 o'clock am, I was extremely tired.)

He ended up staying in the NICU for 10 days.  My little guy had a tubes and wires connected to him.  He was so fragile.  I was up there with him as much as possible.  His lungs developed but so did jaundice.  He had to be under the lights.  I went back and forth to the hospital.  

Finally, the day came when I could take him home.  The newborn outfit I brought for him to wear was too big.  I was so happy to bring him home, I didn't care.  Everything was too big.  Somebody bought him some preemie outfits.  They fit perfectly.  

He was small for his age but that was all.  No Down's Syndrome.  No Spina Bifida.  No Thalassemia.  My baby boy was healthy.  He grew and developed like any other child.  He rolled over, sat up, crawled, walked, talked, etc. just like his brother had.   

The next thing I knew, he wasn't a baby anymore.  He was going to school, playing sports, and taking music lessons.  He was a big boy.

He's ten years old now.  Time flies by quickly.  The next ten years will pass by quicker than the first ten.  Then he will have a girlfriend, a high school diploma, a college degree, a wife, and a family of his own.  But for now, he's still my little guy and I'm the number one lady in his life.  I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

Happy Birthday Son.  

I love you even more today than I did then.  

Mom

My Eldest

September 25, 1989 is a day I can remember like it was yesterday instead of 23 years ago.  That is the day I gave birth to my first child and eldest son.  He was 22 inches long and weighed 8 lbs 1 oz.  He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. 

He grew up so fast.  It seemed like one day he was totally helpless and the next he  was rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking, talking, etc.  Then he wasn't a baby anymore.  

He's a grown man now. 

Happy Birthday Son.  

I love you even more today than I did then.  

Mom

Summer Movies, School, and a Singer

This summer I saw four movies.  The movies I saw were The Avengers, Something from Nothing: the Art of Rap, Brave, and Sparkle.  I didn't want to see any of the other movies that came out this summer.  The only movie that any of my friends talked about was The Dark Knight.  People liked it,  but no one said anything about it that made me interested in seeing it. 

I'm usually trying to get to the movies on opening weekend and the first to give my opinion on a film.  This summer I was uninspired.  I was excited about Sparkle but when it came time to give my opinion, I couldn't give it an exciting recommendation.  I really enjoyed Something from Nothing.  Most people I know didn't see it, despite my enthusiastic support for it.  It was the best movie I saw this summer.

Tuesday was the first day of school for my little guy.   He's in the 5th grade now.  We had a problem the first day with his school bus but after explaining the situation to a few people I was able to get it resolved.  Tonight is curriculum night.  I'll go to the school, meet his teachers and get more information than I ever wanted about the 5th grade school year. 

 I don't think my little guy will have any real problems with school this year.  He's a great student.  He takes his school work seriously and enjoys getting good grades.  He's also going to be taking swim lessons starting this Saturday and he'll still be in martial arts.  I'm considering re-enrolling him in music lessons.  He started playing the guitar at age 5 and he was pretty good at it.  There's just so much to learn and his schedule is full.  We have to make some choices. 

Saturday, I was being supportive and went to Jazz & Jokes.  My cousin Erica is always inviting me to something and I try to make it to most of the time.  I messed up with the Sparkle fundraiser by fooling around getting my ticket, so it was sold out and I missed it.  This time I got my ticket early and online.  It was a good thing I did.  Jazz & Jokes sold out too. 

It was such a nice event.  I am so glad we went.  J.D. "The Smile Hustler" was the host.  He was funny and so were the featured comedians The Real Shortie and Shaun Showtime.    Alesha Nicole was the musical performer. 

This was my second time seeing her.  She was a guest on Red Remote (watch it live on Wednesdays at 8 pm on www.UDetroit.com).  She was very entertaining.  She reminds me of my Niecy Pooh Pooh because she sings, plays keyboard and plays the guitar.  A very talented young lady. 

Thank you for allowing me to share. 

Please leave a comment and share with your friends.

April

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Birthdays, Bookies, and BBQ

This Wednesday we celebrated Carlos' birthday on Red Remote.  Red Remote is a weekly live stream entertainment show.  I am an associate producer.  We broadcast live Wednesdays at 8 pm from UDetroit Cafe in downtown Detroit.  You can watch it stream live at UDetroit.com or on Ustream.com and search for Red Remote. 

I was still feeling a little under the weather but I wasn't going to miss Los the Host's birthday for anything.  I didn't have a chance to go shopping but there were some stray slices of pound cake from Simply Divine sitting around begging to be given away.  I put them in a Chipotle brown paper bag, grabbed my camera and headed downtown.

We had a  great line up of musicians, singers, and comedians scheduled.  The place was packed.  The bar was busy, the music was jammin', and the comedians had us cracking up.  Dionne has set the bar.  I can't wait to see what she pulls out for Ashley Elise's birthday! 

The Bookie (pronounced Boo Key, not Book ee) is always talking about birthday parties.  He just turned 3 in June and had a birthday party.  Then he was here for The Girl's surprise party in July and 2 weeks ago he went to our little cousin's 1st birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.  To make matters worse, we still have a lot of the remainders of The Girl's party still decorating the house, so when Bookie comes over he sees them.  

He loves birthday parties because he associates them with cupcakes.  When I made the coconut lime cupcakes he started singing happy birthday as soon as he saw them.  He's a smart guy, he knows you don't get to eat the cupcakes until after you sing happy birthday. 

We didn't have any cupcakes or sweets for him when he came over this week so he had to be distracted by going outside to play.  The kids were washing the van and of course he got wet.  It was really hot outside so that was okay.  Bookie took a couple of shots straight to the face.  He handled it like a pro.  He wiped his eyes and kept on playing. 

The last thing I want to mention is BBQ.  This summer I haven't had nearly as much BBQ as I would have liked.  I don't know why, but my intention is to fire up the grill and throw a couple of burgers, chicken breast, and maybe a steak on the fire. 

I've never ever did the grilling before.  I never had to do it.  This will be my first time.  I'm not worried about it though, I watch a lot of food network and I've been to hundreds of BBQ's over the years.  I'm a grown woman.  I can do this!

These aren't my grills and this isn't my house, but it what I'd like

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.  Thank you for allowing me to share with you. 

Please leave a comment and share with your friends.

April

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Sinus Problems, Rehearsals, and Concerts

This is going to be a short post.  I haven't been feeling well this week.  It started out simple enough with a stuffy nose and some sneezing.  I was feeling dizzy, running a fever, and actually having a little trouble breathing.  I drank lots of fluids, took some medicine, and managed to get myself dressed everyday and eat a little food. 

I didn't do anything worth posting until today.  I dragged myself out of the house for rehearsal with the cast of City Girls.  I am so excited about my project.  This was the first rehearsal with the entire cast.  It has been hard getting our schedules coordinated but finally having everybody there all at once was a blessing.  Charles is an extra special blessing.  Thank you for opening your home to us and for watching all the kids! 

I missed Kem's Mack and Third concert today.  I wanted to be there but I just couldn't get it together.  Frankie Beverly and Maze joined him for this free concert to benefit area homeless shelters and food banks.  Homelessness is a growing problem in our country and winter will be here before we know it.  I made a donation online at mackandthird.org  and I'm encouraging you to do the same.  It doesn't take very much to make a difference. 

Thank you for allowing me to share a part of my world with you.  
Please leave a comment and share with your friends.

April

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Chopsticks, Cousins, and Live Performances

A friend invited me to celebrate her birthday at Benihana's this week.  I had never been there before but I love Asian Cuisine.  I was glad to join her.  The service was excellent!  I love going to places where the staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and yet professional at the same time.  The food was really good and I had more than enough to eat.  I will be going back despite my difficulties with the chopsticks. 

There were four people in our party so we shared a table with four people we didn't know.  I provided everybody with a lot of laughs because even though I love Asian Cuisine, I don't know how to use chopsticks.  I had a fork, but I was determined to use my chopsticks like everybody else.  I put forth a good effort but finally gave in and used my fork.  My food was looking and smelling entirely too good to be fooling around with the chopsticks for too long.

A Little Film
by 
Motowndiva

While enjoying my meal, I hear a voice that sounds somewhat familiar.  I turn around and it is my cousins Rodney and Dennis.  We hugged each other in the middle of the aisle like we hadn't seen each other in years instead of a couple of months.  They were stopping by to say farewell to Brandon, another cousin, who was seated at the table behind me!  I was too busy trying to master my chopsticks, so I didn't pay any attention to the people around us.

I am always running into my cousins.  We are a pretty close family and most of us like spending time with each other.  Rodney is such a sweetie pie.  When I introduced him to my friends, he invited them to his party next month.  I told my friends they should come because Rodney throws the best parties and it will definitely be a blast! 

My Niecy Pooh Pooh (she hates when I call her that and I try not to call her that in public but it's hard because I've been calling her Niecy Pooh Pooh for years) and her friends were featured performers at a local bar on Tuesday.  I've been listening to Niecy sing since before she could talk.  I've also seen her and her friends in a few stage productions.  I wasn't sure which of her friends she would be singing with that night because almost all of her friends are talented singers, musicians, and performers. 

Niecy and her friends (my honorary nieces) stepped on stage around 11:00 pm.  Six of my cousins were there with me to support her.  The girls sang for about 45 minutes.  This was my first time seeing these three girls sing as a trio.  They really showed out.  Everybody enjoyed the show.  I am so proud of her.  I'm also glad my family was in the place.  We had a great time.   

Thank you for allowing me to share a part of my world with you. 

Please leave a comment and share with your friends.

April

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Book Trailers, Film Festivals, and Sparkle

This week went by so quickly!  I was super busy doing some of everything and nothing.  One of the major things I did was attend the Metro Detroit Literary Meet and Greet this Saturday.  This was my first time attending but it won't be my last. 

I already knew a few of the people that attended the Meet and Greet and now I know a few more of the talented people in the Detroit Literary Community.  Most of the people there were writers but there was also a good representation from people who offer support services to writers such as PR, marketing, editing, photography, publishing, etc.  There were several speakers that freely shared their knowledge with the attendees.  I'm talking about professional advice that you would normally pay to hear.

I came home with business cards, information, and some great ideas!  Unfortunately for me, I didn't come home with any of the  great prizes that were raffled off, including a Kindle Reader.  I would have loved that!  It was still a great event.  I hate that I had to rush out the door so I could get my little guy to his friend's birthday party.  I could have talked to everybody there, if time permitted!

Sylvia Hubbard reading the winning ticket number
Not mine ;-(

Before I get started on my new project, I have a couple of things I need to complete.  Besides City Girls, I have a few other things in the works, one of which is a Book Trailer.  I am meeting with the author Tuesday.  I've been researching book trailers all weekend and I can't wait to share some of my ideas with her.  I also need to get the last bit of editing done on Waffles.  Submission  deadlines are fast approaching for a few of the festivals.  I think I have a pretty good film and people will like it.  Once the festivals are done, it will be available for the public to view. 

I'm planning on attending the Trinity Film Coalition Film Festival next month.  My friend Malcolm X Johnson was one of the winners last year for his film The First Time I Committed Suicide.  

This Friday I will be going to see Sparkle.  I've been waiting for the release.  So many of my friends participated in making it and it is Whitney's last performance.  I loved the original film, I've probably seen it over a hundred times.  The soundtrack was killer and so far I'm loving the new soundtrack too.  I'll be going to a fundraiser showing so if you haven't made plans yet, come join us Friday night. 

Lastly, I want to say thanks to my friends Yaya, Klassic B, and Leslie for letting me hang out with them.  We had so much fun.  Do not be surprised if you see one of my films in the near future and some of the scenes remind you of Saturday.  Keep up the good posture ladies!

Thank you for allowing me to share a part of my world with you.  
Please leave a comment and share with your friends.

April

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Books, Blogs, and Rehearsals

Whew!  What a weekend!  So much was going on this weekend and I tried to participate in all of it!  I'm only going to discuss a few of the many things that happened.

First of all, congratulations to "the girl".  She took her test for her next belt in martial arts this weekend and now she's the senior student in class.  My little guy missed the test because he is away at camp but he'll be home Wednesday and he will take his test Thursday.  I'm sure he will pass with flying colors too.

When Monica L. Jones invited me to her book event at the Franklin Athletic Club I was slightly confused.  I kept trying to figure out why she would have a book event there.  I had this image in my head that people would be lifting weights, riding the cycles, sweating and grunting right next to the table where she would be autographing books.  I knew it wasn't going to be like that for real but that's what kept popping into my head. 

To order go to  http://www.monicaljones.com/

Let me tell you, it was nothing like that.  The book event was held in the banquet room at the Franklin Athletic Club.  It is a beautiful room with gorgeous chandeliers and away from the activities.  Monica really turned it out.  The decorations were an athletic theme that matched the books' storyline, the food was good, and somehow Monica spoke to each one of the approximately 50 people that were in attendance.  She thanked everyone for attending and managed to say something special about each person in the room and a few people who weren't in the room.  Everyone mingled and had a good time.  I had to leave early but people were still coming when I left.  Before I left I made sure to have both of my books signed by the author.  Instead of just signing her name she wrote a personal message in each one for me. I love having my books autographed by the author.  It makes it easier to get them back if I let someone borrow them.

She had cake too!

  

Even though I haven't started reading Monica's books yet, I have been catching up on some of the blogs.  Sometimes we get caught up in things and forget what's really important.  Reading Ridiculous Hungry helped me get my perspective back on track and focus.  Also, the author is responsible for me making coconut lime cupcakes this weekend.  I needed to redeem myself after that mess with the waffle cookies.  I've modified the recipe and I'm still not happy with the results. I only ate two cupcakes, one Friday and one Saturday.  I managed to get the rest of them out of this house today.  There's only one left and I'm sure "the girl" will take care of it before today is over. 

Photo by "The Girl" and those are my hands

My cast ate the other cupcakes today at rehearsal.  These ladies are extremely talented.  Today's rehearsal had me feeling so good about City Girls.  Royce, the director of Waffles, is busy with his own project so Swift is directing City Girls.  Their styles are very different but I know I'm going to end up with a great finished product working with either one of them.  There are a couple of other directors I feel this way about too.  I'll save that for a future post. 

Thank you for allowing me to share a part of my world with you.  
Please leave a comment and share with your friends.

April

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City Girls, Book Releases, and Trailers

I don't know what happened last week.  I went to Atlanta, Georgia for my family reunion so I wrote my post before I left.  I thought I had scheduled it to publish on Monday.  Imagine my surprise when I checked and it wasn't there. 

I was going to use it for this week, but I decided not to do that.  Too many things have happened that I'd like to share. 

I worked on a few projects this past week.  One of them is for Wounded Women Win founded by Minister LaSonya Clark-Bellman to help women recover, learn from, and triumph over the pain of the past.  Her story is amazing and it was really hard to choose which parts to use and condense into a minute and 30 seconds.  I will be working on additional pieces for this group in the near future.  I'm truly grateful to be a part of this much needed organization.  

I am still in pre-production for my new project, City Girls.  It's about five college friends who have managed to maintain their close friendship since singing together in the choir in college.  The ladies go through some good times and bad times but they manage to stay friends and support each other through their trials and tribulations.  There is drama, humor, and singing throughout. 

I finally cast the fifth and final singer/actress for City Girls.  These five young ladies are so talented!  They can really sing!  I am going to do some rewriting so they can really showcase their abilities.  We are going to have our first rehearsal this weekend.  I am so excited.  My director is the bomb too.  I'll tell you about him some time in the near future.  I'll be posting pictures and maybe some video too.

Things are going really well with Red Remote.  I look forward to Wednesday nights and working with the Red Remote team down at UDetroit Cafe.  I love working on this show.  The hosts, Carlos and Ashley, are great, the production team has it together, and we have some of the best guests.  This week one of the guest will be author, Monica L. Jones.  She'll be discussing her new book, and her event at the Franklin Athletic Club this weekend. 

Ashley Elise and Carlos Mayes
Co-host of Red Remote 

I have been thoroughly enjoying The Love Phobia.  The stars, Carlos Mayes and Aaron Toland, II are gifted actors.  I watched episode 2.  Even though it has a lot of profanity, I am enjoying the series.  It is interesting and I am looking forward to seeing what happens in episode 3 on August 5th.  I'm hoping B, Damien's girlfriend, gets herself together and leaves him for good.  It doesn't make sense to stay in a relationship where you are unhappy.  Men and women need to realize that and stop thinking that having someone that isn't right for you is better than being alone.  There's nothing wrong with being alone, and just because you are alone doesn't mean you have to be lonely. 

This weekend I will be going to the premiere for Why Do Men Cheat?  I have been hearing about this movie for several months now and it's finally time to go check it out.  I have been told by a couple of the cast members that this is going to be the best film premiere this summer.  I have no intentions of missing it.  

Middle of Nowhere was written and directed by Ava DuVernay.  She won the Best Director award for this film at the Sundance Film Festival this year.  She is the first black woman to win Best Director at Sundance.  I am so proud of this sister.  This is inspirational for me to keep on going and working towards my dream.

Thank you for allowing me to share a part of my world with you.  
Please leave a comment and share with your friends.

April

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