Stuff of Legends

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have opened a new post, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I could think of something to say.  Or open a notebook in hopes that words in my head would flow through my fingers onto the page, but as you can see, neither has happened.  No real inspiration, I guess.

I will admit that this year has been a real eye opener for me, mainly because I am forcing myself to consider the possibility that I could and should want more for my life.  To live it rather than let it pass me by.  To consider the idea that I am worthy of enjoying life, rather than sitting on the sidelines, cheering on those around me.  It's one thing to be told this over and over, but to realize it for myself means so much more.

After years of thinking that maybe school was something that wasn't meant for me, I have taken the plunge and have enrolled to finish my prerequisites at the local community college before transferring to a year program.  What an amazing feeling.  

I have already begun planning my trips for the year.  After reaping the benefits of that last year, I now know that this is something that I have to continue or else, my day to day life will wear me out and its really not worth it.  

Tonight, I went to see the movie 42, a movie about the late, great Jackie Robinson.  A man who changed the game of baseball by changing people's perception of racism in sports, by doing what he did best: playing the game the only way he knew how and not letting the world tell him that he couldn't.  Like anyone, the pressure of course got to him, but what I loved about this movie and this man is that he never let the cameras see him crack under the pressure.  Had this have happened, the man we now know as a legend would have been sent back to where he came from and baseball or any sport for that matter would have continued along the same road it was on, never changing.  But he didn't.  This man is a true inspiration and legend.

The owner, Branch Rickey, who pushed for Jackie Robinson was in his own right was brilliant.  This man never listened to the nay-sayers when they said signing him would be bad for the sport.  It was his love for the sport and doing what was right that started this change, bringing to light the real issue that the country faced at the time.  Showing that maybe racism was tainting this game that people loved.  

The movie, from start to finish, was amazing, brilliantly done.  I am far from being a baseball fan, but I love history and this was an important to not just baseball, but American History that should not be forgotten.  

Go check it out...it is worth every penny.

So, I realize that this is an extremely heavy post, but I guess that's just how it goes.  

Transitioning into 2013

I feel like I have started, deleted and restarted this post several times, struggling to find the right words to say about about ending 2012 and looking forward to what 2013 may bring.  So let's see how this turns out, because this is it.

Looking back at the past year and realized how crazy it was, but what kind of made it easier to deal with is how much I grew as a person.  I still have a ways to go, but I'd like to think that I made some great progress.

• Took a couple trips to West Michigan by myself to just get away from everything and loved it.  It was extremely relaxing and I'm kinda wondering if the fact that I was out of cell phone range for part of it helped. (Shh...don't tell mom!)  So I'm thinking that this will be something that I plan on doing every year.
• Met some crazy people who have become like another family who refuse to let me continue to be antisocial.  I hate them for it sometimes, but I think that's what I love about these people.
• My grandmother's multiple hospital visits in the fall definitely threw my family for a loop and reminded me that each day is promised, but a blessing.
• I managed to shock the hell out of people and got a tattoo.  Despite everything I have heard about people wanting more tattoos after their first one, I am about 99.9% sure that I am NOT one of those people!  But I don't regret getting it.
• I have become a little more vocal about my own needs and have slowly, surely begun to get my point across
• I have begun to eat a little better and cut down on how much I eat out.  Right now, I would like to make coffee, and maybe even meat, an occasional treat.  

My main goals for the coming year is to go back to school to finish my degree and look for a  new job.  Almost a month into 2013, I'm really looking forward to see what it brings.

Christmas Cookies

Every holiday for as long as I can remember, cheesecake has always been made and the first to go.  This year, oddly enough, it wasn't even on the menu.  Before I knew this, I had already decided on cheesecake cookies, something I had seen on Pinterest.com.

I think they turned out pretty well and were super easy.  Adding things, such as chocolate and craisins, were kind of fun and the fam (aka taste testers) loved 'em.

Thumbs up!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Christmas Eve....

Hello America! Its Christmas time in Hollis queens, Momma cookin' Chitterlings and Collard Greens. 

This is what I get for letting my brother get a hold of my blog! 

In Heaven...

If someone told me that I had to have breakfast food for every meal for a month, I would think that I had won the lottery!  Cereal (hot or cold), pancakes or waffles, eggs, bacon...it doesn't matter.  So this next food attempt should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me.

I found an easy recipe that combined my love for grilled cheese, eggs and bacon in ONE sandwich and finally decided now would be a good time to try it.  This breakfast grilled cheese is a fairly easy one, but if you load it up with butter like I do, its not something that should be eaten very often.  It was probably the best sandwich ever and was inhaled!  Thumbs up if you're a fan of either.

Food Updates...

After listening to conspiracy theories over dinner and spending the day with family, I thought this would be a good way to end the day, before getting ready for the week.

So I have slowly started writing again, mainly because those characters (or voices...whichever you want to call it) wouldn't let me go too long without putting their words on paper.  I'm still not eating and breathing their story as I was before, but I'm getting there.

For now, Pinterest has taken up a lot of my time and my stomach as well as my sweet tooth is thanking me for that.  Since I had a little extra time on my hand this weekend, I decided to try a couple new dishes and make a new favorite.

Last night, I made beef ravioli with garlic butter sauce...not a fan really.  I don't know if it was how light the butter sauce was (or should I say nonexistent) or the overwhelming amount of garlic that the recipe called for, despite the fact that I opted not to use as much as the recipe called for.  Either way, I wasn't a fan.  I won't make it again.

Tonight, I wanted to try oven toasted ravioli, which is a super easy appetizer or light meal, and was super easy. And delicious! After making the lasagna rolls, I became a fan of marinara sauce, but I opted to use spicy marinara sauce, adding the extra kick.  Thumbs up for this one.

To top off the weekend, I made tortellini and spinach soup, a great soup on a cold rainy day.

Another thing that I got a chance to do was check out the movie, Lincoln, which turned out to be a great movie.  For anyone who likes history, it is worth the 2.5 hours.  The movie was more or less about Lincoln's second term and the 13th amendment, as well as the controversy surrounding it.  The ending was a little heartbreaking, but great.  Reminds me of our president...made him a little more human in my eyes.  

Have a great week!

Ps. I need to try pineapple sangria and cheesecake cookies very soon!  I'm thinking the cookies may be a Christmas thing...we'll see.

Hate To Cook, But Love To Eat

I have said the following to family and friends:

I can cook, but hate to...It has to be done because I love to eat!

Pinterest.com is going to be the reason why I will be gaining the 15 lbs that I avoided during my freshman year of college (mainly since I opted to live with the 'rents during this time) because I'm always finding a new recipe that I want to try.  

Oddly enough though, my latest cravings had nothing to do with the site... this time!

For the main dish, I made smothered enchiladas since I was craving Mexican food...I think it turned out okay.  I will say that when I make this again, I will probably cut down on the cream of chicken soup and use a spicier taco seasoning.  For me, its perfect though, because it's one of those dishes that can be taken for lunch.  Overall, I wasn't totally impressed by this one.

Note: As most food, these are soooooo much better the second day!

Back story: I was at a friends house for a random get together weeks ago and the roommate made some mint chocolate chip cookies that were out of this world.  Needless to say, I have been craving them ever since.  

So now that the holiday is over and Christmas is weeks away, I figured today was a good time as any to try the two recipes.  

I really could have stopped right here!

Finished product...These may not last very long

All in all, Enchiladas... nothing too exciting, but the mint chocolate chip cookies were amazing!

Have a great week!

Cooking again...

I know that it has been a while since I have posted anything...I'll explain more later.

Pinterest.com is going to be the death of me...its the most distracting thing EVER!  (I'm just waiting for the day when I go into work and this site will be blocked.)  The pictures and ideas that are posted are enough, but then I found the food section.  

Moving on...

So I set aside three recipes that I wanted to try or make the first time in years.  One (tortellini and spinach soup) didn't make it since I didn't have the tortellini...oops!

The french breakfast muffins reminded me of when my mom used to make them and figured it would be good to try.  Luckily for me, they turned out great...now for me NOT to eat all of them tonight.

The other recipe that I tried were portobello pizza bites.  This was a new one for me since I have only had only had a small bite of a portobello mushroom before this and have never tried a recipe with it, so this one was a little weird for me.  Since I was so iffy about it, I opted for the mini 'bellas and originally made two of them.  When they finished, the water from the mushrooms were draining out and made me wonder if I burned  the bottoms because of the smell.  I didn't!

It doesn't look great, I know...

They turned out so well, that I made a third one.  What I like about these mushrooms is that they are filling and has the texture of meat...great for vegetarians.  Well, minus the turkey pepperoni.  Even the turkey pepperoni surprised me...it actually tasted better than the usual pepperoni.  

Would I makes either of these again? Yes, I would!  

For Me

As my birthday rapidly approached last month, I tried my hardest to think of what I wanted to do for myself... And it had to be drastic.  Something no one thought I would ever do.

The final two choices were cut  my hair or get a tattoo.  Decisions, decisions.

The haircut slightly terrified me despite the fact that it was something I got excited about.  The only issue I had with it was the fact that I have finally gotten my hair the way I want it and its finally healthy, so why mess it up now?

So then I figured if I could find a tattoo that meant something to me, that would be the winner.  After a couple hours of research and bombarding my sister with questions, I had found the design that I wanted and decided on the date before I could back out.


So this Saturday, I picked up my sisters and got my tattoo.  The sketch of it alone blew me away, but the tattoo itself is so ridiculously awesome.  

There is still a tiny part of me that's still can't believe that it's really there, but it is.  Well, that is until something rubs up against it.

Do I regret it?  Absolutely not.

Would I get another one?  Hell no! 

Now to figure out what I'm going to do next year...

I'm Black...When Did That Happen?!

I just can't seem to get this out of my head.  Please know that to me, race is one of those issues that can either cause problems or cause people to think.  It's what makes us all unique and allows us all to bring something different to the table.  If we were all the same, can you imagine how boring life would be?

The other day, an older black woman came to the counter where I work with a few questions, which I was able to answer.  Once she got the answers that she came for, the woman lowered her voice and said to me, "I didn't know that they hired black people here."

You know that feeling when your heart starts beating triple time and the room gets really hot while the walls start closing in?  Yeah, that's how I felt.

I managed to brush it off by saying, "Yes, they do, contrary to popular belief."  She moved onto what felt like an interrogation or 20 questions while we were being watched by two other secretaries before she finally left.  When I sat down, the realization that yes, I am black (duh...I'll get back to this) and me working where I do is still a shock to people, both black and white.

You have to realize that when my siblings and I were growing up, my parents raised us with the idea that despite the fact that we were black, we shouldn't feed into the stereotypes that society had for us and that the color of our skin means nothing and shouldn't stop us from getting what we want, without forgetting who we were or where we came from.  We were taught to judge a person by their character and not their skin color, because that is what matters most.  We were sent to schools where we were often the only black kids in our classes.  I was in a government class where the professor did single me out for being the only black student while discussing slavery.  Each of us were all in situations where we were called out for "talking" or "acting white" by other blacks because we were taught that slang is unnecessary if we want to succeed in this world.

Before that woman came to the counter, I had gotten to the point in my job that I was comfortable in my own skin and didn't have to worry about the fact that I looked different.  Yes, there are times when I do have to step back and remember that some of the older contractors are not ready to see a colored face there, but its not often.  Maybe its the fact that race has never seemed to be a factor since I started working here and that I was just welcomed with open arms by my coworkers.  How two of my closest "people" there are nothing like me, but we all seem to enjoy each others company.  

She reminded me that I wasn't the same as everyone else and that I could be portrayed as the token black person.  Or it could be that maybe, just maybe this place is coming to their senses and finally hiring people that represent the citizens that they are serving day in and day out.  Nonetheless, because of this older woman, I realized that maybe I am that touch of color or change that my workplace so desperately needed.