Move Mountain!

Your mountain responds to your voice. You have to speak to your mountain in order for it to move! ~Joel Osteen

The past few days have been especially trying for me. I won't go into details but every single day this week it's been something! I am leaning heavily on my faith in God and taking comfort in knowing He will never forsake me. Last Sunday, I watched Joel Olsteen's program and the above quote resonated with me. To everything that has been bothering me all week I say "Move mountain in Jesus' name!" Pray for me ya'll

Your Joy

This week I celebrated my daddy's 52nd birthday! I am so blessed have him here with me & the older I get the more I realize how truly thankful I should be that I have ALWAYS had him in my life. Our relationship hasn't been picture perfect, we've endured some tumultuous years but his love, support, encouragement were unwavering. I am my father's first daughter and I think at times he still thinks of me as the 6 year old he took to the park to fly kites, the little girl he taught to swim, the munchkin that rode on his shoulders-he didn't want to see me for the adult that I was becoming, he didn't want to see me make mistakes and find my way. As a parent I now understand what many of our disagreements were about, he wanted to protect me and knew just where certain things would land me. As I watch my dad with my daughter it warms my heart to see him be just as patient with her as he was with me, because of him she will know a father's love.

At my wedding the daddy daughter dance will be "Your Joy" by Chrisette Michelle so I am dedicating it to my dad today.

Walk down the sidewalk,
Staring at your feet,
Wishing my steps were longer,
So by your sides I could keep.

Hold your hand much bigger,
Never wanted mine to grow,
So I could always fit perfect,
Inside your palms just so.

No one loves me just like you do,
No one knows me just like you do,
No one can compare to the way my eyes fit in yours,
You'll always be my father,
And I'll always be your joy.

Lay me on your belly,
Nights when mama wasn't home,
Lightning made me shiver,
And you never let me feel alone.

I tried to match your breathing,
Beating my little heart against yours,
Perfect were the nights we were sleeping,
I never want to end what we are.

'Cause no one loves me just like you do,
And no one knows me just like you do,
No one can compare to the way my eyes fit in yours,
You'll always be my father,
And I'll always be your joy.

One day he'll come on bended knee,
And ask my love away from thee,
And when I give my love to him,
You'll always have a place within.

One day he'll come on bended knee,
And ask my love away from thee,
And when I give my love to him,
You'll always have a place within.

No one loves me just like you do,
No one knows me just like you do,
No one can compare to the way my eyes fit in yours,
You'll always be my father,
And I'll always be your joy

The Point Of It All

I am finally back in the States and while I am thankful for safe travels and being back with my family I have to tell you I would have loved to stay in the Dominican Republic--the beautiful weather, the eye candy men and the skin bronzing sun was begging me to stay just a little while longer. I returned to celebrate my birthday with my parents, sisters, daughter & (dog)son. We had a special dinner, cake, I opened my gifts and took pics.

I feel like 30 has ushered me into a new era-one of honesty. In all truthfulness I think I had been teetering on the brink of it for a little while, but I needed an excuse to fully embrace it. I realized that a large portion of my life has been spent doing, saying, acting, emulating, personifying what I 'should be.' Not really taking the time to acknowledge how I really felt about situations or never voicing my true feelings about things I encounter for fear of being labeled weak or shallow or the ever feared 'bitch'. Some people might not like it and some people might love it, but the reality of it is I have this one life to live and I have to make it count. So I can live it for impressions and perceptions or I can live it for me-happiness and contentment. This doesn't mean all my problems will simply fade or suddenly I have life all figured out, but it does mean that I am making a conscious effort to live my days full of enjoyment, embrace each moment as if it's my last and acknowledge what I'm feeling despite who might not agree. I'll probably still have moments where I'll say whats acceptable instead of what I really feel, but the point for me is to be happy and honest and comfortable.

My Sole Intention

It was IMPERATIVE that I find the perfect shoe to set off my LBD for 'Cocktails On The Terrace' Friday night. I talked about all my efforts in a previous post and eventually found a pair on Ardenb.com that I thought would suffice-NOT! I kept searching and came across a pair of HAWT pumps by Report Signature on Endless.com. In addition to Endless offering free 2 day shipping they had a promo code available that deducted 25% off the shoes, it was a no-brainer I HAD to get these shoes. I placed my order and imagine my surprise when my shoes arrived the very next day, I have to give a *handclap* to Endless for their outstanding customer service! I was promised the shoes within 2 days, but got them a day early, paid no shipping or taxes and if I want to return the shoes over the next year I can all at no charge to me! The Arden B shoes will be going back with the quickness and I will be rocking these shoegasmic pumps Friday night! Have you ever used Endless.com? If not check them out ASAP!

Party Shoes!

We Are Family

On Saturday I took a mini road trip with 2 of my girls to Raleigh, NC to celebrate a fellow Virgo's birthday. The venue was HOT, if you are ever in Raleigh make sure you check out Solas on Glenwood. There was so much excitement in the air because the party was a surprise for LaToya, who is a self proclaimed private investigator, but we managed to keep it a secret! The look on her face when she was walked in and had that moment of realization was priceless! Her cousins did a great job of planning her evening and I know she'll always remember her 30th birthday as a super special one.

Seeing the effort her cousins put into her party led me to a moment of reflection-I have no close personal relationship with my cousins or any of my extended family. As I celebrate on Friday the only people that I will be surrounded by that I am related to are my parents and siblings, but I will still be surrounded by family-family that I have hand-picked over the years and that I am blessed to have. While we don't share the same bloodline or last names these are people that have loved me, cheered me on, prayed for me & supported me. I know that the type of relationship Toya has with her cousins I will never have, but the 'family' I have is just as special and I know they love me as though we used to get fussed at by grandma together. :)

While I can't change how my familial relationships turned out, I can try to make sure that my daughter has a different experience. Although I am not a part of her paternal family I try to encourage and help foster the relationship with them and I know it will be a few years before my siblings have children, but I hope that the cousins will love each other, throw parties for each other and spend time with each other. I want to encourage her to understand and appreciate the importance of family and hopefully her biological and chosen family will help me with this task. Nana always told me 'In All Things Give Thanks' I am thankful that I see how not to be so I won't continue the pattern with my daughter and I am thankful for my non-related family members that have accepted me with open arms.

Happy Birthday Toya!

Slow Down

As anxious as I am for my trip to Punta Cana I do need the days to slow down just a little. So much is happening and going on and I have been sooooo busy, the princess and I both haven't been feeling well. This past weekend I attended the 30th birthday party for one of my dear friends Toya, she was surprised and shocked and excited and we partied hard! Attending her party led me to a revelation--that post will be coming soon. We had a great time and of course when in Raleigh I HAVE to go to my favorite restaurant of all time-Bahama Breeze.


I returned home in hopes of putting the last minute touches on the details for 'Cocktails On The Terrace' and my trip to Punta Cana, but a nagging cough kept slowing me down, finally after everyone's nagging encouragement I went to Patient First where I was diagnosed with bronchitis---UGGHHHH! I took today off to get some apparently much needed rest, relaxation and hydration, and honestly I do feel a lot better. I am gonna be taking it slow the next few days so I can be at 100% for Punta Cana--time to celebrate!!!

Back To Business

I had a truly enjoyable long weekend & now it's back to business, the princess is heading to Pre-K tomorrow *tear* & I'm heading back to work. Despite being confined to the house every 4 hours for her treatments we managed to have a fun "Mommy & Me' weekend-whenever I'm with her other stuff really doesn't matter.

I need to tie up a few loose ends for "Cocktails On The Terrace' and finalize some details. I wantedto do something that would make my evening memorable for me as well as my guests and I decided on a balloon release. I got the idea from another blog I read, basically she released 30 balloons and had a notecard made up with her website and had each guest at her party write a message on the back with a wish for the finder. It's my hope that the finders of the balloons from my party will come here to let me know where they found their balloon and what they wished for. I made sure that it's legal here in Va so now I need to place my balloon order and decide on a design for the cards that will be attached.

My pumps should be coming in this week *fingers crossed they are perfection* and I dropped my dress off at the dry cleaners the other day so that's ready to be picked up. I need to decide on centerpieces for the tables and check with the venue to see if they have black tablecloths-I wanted a really hot pink flower for the centerpiece but can't find anything I really like, so I think it'll have to be pink roses and I found some black candles. I need to make a list-I operate best like that and being able to cross things off feels euphoric..lol.

I still need to do some last minute shopping for Punta Cana, this summer was SO hot I didn't go a lot of places and thus didn't need to do a lot of shopping so now I need to grab some maxi dresses, sandals, etc. I cannot wait for a whole week of fun in the sun and unlimited drinks-that's the way to celebrate!

I still need to give my full thoughts on Takers but in a nutshell-BEST. MOVIE. EVER! Can't wait to see it again and for the sequel (if TI can stay out of jail long enough--uggghhhh)

Good nite all--it's back to business tomorrow.