Inspired by a Blogger...My FRIENDS give LIFE!

Hey y'all!  Today, while I was taking my daily stroll through blog land, I came upon THIS POST from Bernetta of Bernettastyle.com.  She called it her Girlfriend Hit List.  She basically shared a photo of her closest friends and said a little something about them! I thought that was AWESOME! So, I decided to do the same thing!  I'll be doing these "inspired by" posts more often!  Now, I'm not swagger jacking but, paying homage to a good concept and putting my spin on it!

Not only am I GRATEFUL and HONORED to be friends with these ladies, I'm in awe of how they TRULY know me but, love me anyway!  *Clink, clink* and *Scoot, scoot* to my "circle" of FAB friends!

I met April in the Summer of 2001.  We were in the same health class in college and we hit it off right away!  She has ALWAYS been there to support me in everything I do.  She plays no games but, she has the BIGGEST heart of anyone I've ever met.  We are never at a loss for things to talk about, she's a good listener and her spirit just aligns well with mine!  She's definitely the big sister I never had.  I love you girl! 

I met Ashanti through April.  They are the LAST BFFs honey! #PraiseFriendship  When I tell you that this lady is the #1 supporter!  She has bought more cards and services from my design company, Twotearsinmybucket.com than ANYONE! LOL!  She listens to me and always allows me to be myself.  She will very politely tell you the REAL and not think twice about it.  She recently got married and it was so beautiful.  I was so honored to be part of special day.  I think she has to be one of the few people in the world that knows all my tea and crumpets honey! She'd better not EVER write a book about me! LOL!  She is the only person living with a platinum heart...encrusted with diamonds of course! 

My J. King!!!!  We met each other at work six years ago.  She said she didn't befriend me in the first few weeks because the admin had a high turn over and she didn't want to get to know someone who was going to be gone in a minute! LOL!  Heffa!  She is very mild mannered and laid back but, don't you be fooled! Homegirl will eat your lunch...and quickly at that! LOL!  She has NEVER judged me and NEVER made me feel anything but good.  She is honest, hardworking and strong.  She inspires me.  Oh, and don't sleep on her baking skills www.neverdessertyou.com  I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for our talks.  She has saved me from many a blunder!  

Do you recognize this lady?  Style is She.  Who me?  No her! LOL!  She's NeShanta of Styleisshe.com!  But, she's also my friend.  You know when you reach the seasoned age of 30, your circle of friends has *typically* already been formed.  So, I was surprised when I met her and we clicked so much!  I can tell her anything and I know she'll still have my back.  What a great gift to be given a good friend when you weren't even reviewing applications!  She is honest, forward and just as ratch-sophisticated as me!  We have the LAST friendship hann-nah (that's honey pronounced the ratch-sophisticated way)!

These are the DIVAS!  I'm not going to lie, my ex-best friend was in the front of the photo so, I kindly cropped her out.  But, seriously...these ladies are so sweet and we support each other.  Of course I'm closer to some of the ladies than others but, we're always there to lift each other up and that means a lot.  I love them all, they are each unique and have so much to share with the world. 

I have to give a SPECIAL shout out to Toya, the modern day Mother Teresa for always being a listening ear.  She is the friend I don't deserve.  I don't think she's even capable of killing a mosquito.  She's kind, gentle, giving, sweet and lovely.  She is the DIVA in the white on the back row.  

Alright that's it!  Do you love your circle of friends?  Do they give you life?  If not...change ya circle boo!

Thanks to Bernetta for inspiring this post!

Please Believe I'm Talking About You...

Hello lovelies!  Okay, so, I have a confession.  I don't really watch TV like that.  If a show is good and I hear about it enough I will watch it on Hulu+ or Netflix.  If I can't find it there, I'll check the network sites or the blogs.  That brings me to Basketball Wives (not LA, the original)! Chiiiiiile I have never seen such tomfoolery wrapped up in shenanigans and fuckery in my ENTIRE LIFE!  The sad part is, all the ladies on the show have something good and real to bring.  It's just their interactions with each other that cause the positivity to take a nose dive.

They're always getting into some drama over what one lady said about another lady behind her back!  Who doesn't talk about folks they know to other folks they know?  Sure you don't have to be malicious and slanderous but, you do talk about folks!  If you're questioned about it, you should be able to say "Yes, I said xyz because...".

I said all that to say...do you really get upset if you know that folks are talking about you?  I mean, is it THAT serious? Now, would I be hurt if I found out my closest friends thought I was a dog faced heffa?  Of course!  But, if Susie Suckface thinks I'm stuck up...I don't care enough about her to let that anger me...well, I may get a LITTLE angry!  So, I think if you're one of those folks that says "Don't talk about me"! Then, you're being impractical   Folks talk.  When you become okay with that...a lot of frustration and upset will subside.

'Cause truthfully, If I have met you, I'm going to talk about you.  Hell, if I haven't met you, I may talk about your online representative (i.e. your blog, your twitter comments).  I'm going to say whether or not you were cool, how you made me feel, what you were doing, etc.  If you were a jerkface, I'm going to really talk about your ass!  No like for real. That's a part of life.  It doesn't have to be a bad thing...but, it does happen.

Now for those of you that say that you don't talk about others...I don't believe YOU!  I don't know why but, that has always irked me!  If you don't talk about other people then you aren't talking about anything! People are the substance of LIFE!  That's all that there is to it!  So, don't you gallop up to me on your high horse acting like you're above my good tea!

No man is an island.  #RoseReddSaid

Framed Monogram Fabric Panels

Hey y'all!  So, I know that I'm supposed to be sharing all of these wonderful crafted and D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) home projects with you all but, guess what?  These things take time!  I was really getting agitated with not having this stuff up on the blog. But, HELL...by the time I go to work, do school work, drive through traffic, pick the baby up, cook, clean, do more work...it's late as hell and I can't take pictures for the blog! Well, praise Moses for crock pots and meal planning because I actually got some shit stuff done this weekend!

My mom thrifted these framed Cafe art photos about four years ago.  They hung in our apartment and they were fab.  After we moved twice, the frames were beat down and busted.  I didn't throw them away because I knew I could repurpose them.  So, I took them apart and decided to make some FRAMED MONOGRAM FABRIC PANELS.

So, the first step in this grand transformation was painting these frames.  They were black and that sucked!  I didn't want to waste any primer (that stuff is as precious as breast milk was when I was nursing!) on these so, I used some good old Krylon spray paint. BUT...I ended up using some left over old school paint in the can b/c I refused to give the Hobby Lobby any more of my coins!

While the frames were drying, I started working on the fabric panels.  In order for your fabric panel to fit snug in your frame make sure to wrap the fabric around all the contents that came with the frame.  For my panels, I wrapped both the cardboard and the mat.  If I were missing any part of the "innerds" of the frames, I'd just add more cardboard until it fit. Make sure you pull the fabric so that it's taught.  You don't want any droopy fabric in your frame.

Finally, you adhere your object.  Now, I used a chipboard "W" (please say the Washington) and painted it a minty green.  I adhered it with a heavy duty hot glue.

It's the perfect compliment for our foyer/entry way.  I made two.  The other one is in our Master bath room.

Well, that's it y'all! I hope you enjoyed this!  I've got more projects coming your way!  Stay tuned y'all! Oh and Pin my shit stuff!

Linking up with:  diy home sweet home

Fire me if you need to...My baby is sick...I'm taking PTO!

Sooooo...I'm at home.  My son is sick.  He is three and he goes to daycare.  It's a great daycare and they're very clean, knowledgeable and professional.  HOWEVER, you can't control these parents that take their SICK KIDS to school with strep throat, fevers, green mucus or freakin' Ebola virus!  I know that it's hard when you work for a living and you only have so many PTO hours or sick days available.  But, I also know that you start an epidemic in the classroom when you take your sick kid to school!

Now...I NEVER bat an eye when I have to take off work for my son.  Thus far, my company has been understanding and accommodating.  However, if they weren't, I would have to cut my losses, hit 'em with the  two up, two down (A-town style) and keep it moving.  When I had my son, my reality became that I am a MOTHER first before all else.  So, if that means I have to bag groceries at Publix...so be it. Now...I don't WANT to do that but, I realize that I have to be there for him.  I can't worry about what is happening at the office and if I'm viewed as disloyal to the company because I'll never be more loyal to a multi-million dollar corporation than to my son.

How do you feel about it?  I'm grateful for the times when my family can watch him when he's feeling ill but, I don't want to worry about my job when I need to take care of my son.  Do you struggle with this?  Don't even get me started on when I want to be there for his class parties and picture days.

AM INSPIRATION

Get OVER it or Get UNDER it!

So what happens when you've planned out your life and the shit goes awry?  Let me tell you what happens...you either start the process of Getting OVER it or Getting UNDER it!

OR...

When I relaunched this blog, I had every intention of planning my posts in advance, making my projects on time and even throwing in a surprise or three when I got the chance!  Well NONE OF THAT HAPPENED!  Life got in the way!  So what if I'm not pulling in THE MOST folks and I don't have a media kit!  Hell most days I can't find the sewing kit! LOL!  I'm getting over it.

Now what I'm not 'gon do is have a #RoseReddSaid sponsored pitty party because I have a full time job, I'm in school, I have a husband, I have a beautiful son and a LIFE!  I'm not getting under the frustration, anger and whatever else!

So, decide you're going to start the "getting OVER it" process or the "getting UNDER it" process. BUT...just know the power is within you to feel and be whatever it is you want!  Don't blame your circumstances on life!  Make life bend to your rules! Just sayin...