Monday, June 30, 2008

WalMart is cheap...yeah right

I went food shopping at Super WalMart today. I like to go there for all of my dry goods because they are cheap. WalMart gives you the illusion that everything is 2 or 3 bucks. Most things are. But 2 or 3 bucks times 60+ items...you do the math. I went alone, no kids, and was soaking up every moment that I was able to shop alone with my IPOD playing all of my favorite songs for my ears only. I should have known when I could no longer push the cart, that I was in for a big surprise when the total came up. In the meantime, while my final items were being loaded into the bags and the grand total was being read to me by the cashier, my friends Daryl and Andre walked up. I said hello to them, and chatted for a minute, and the lady told me the total as I was finishing up my conversation. Apparently I got Ghetto Fabulous without even realizing it. 4 hours later she called my sister, still hysterical laughing at me and how I was slurring profanities and acting like your grandmother used to act when you would go to the store with her and she would look at price tags and scream it out in shock and you would want to walk away and die. Well that was me today. And I didn't even know it. My sister called me to tell me I made Daryl's day with my "side show" that I put on at Walmart today. Well it didn't stop there. I continued my rant when I came home, and told my kids and nephews how my kitchen closes at 8pm, bowls of cereal are not considered "A snack", I am not here to feed the entire neighborhood, Juice boxes are only for when we travel out of the house, and so on...and on....and on. They all looked at me like I was nuts. I'm really not like that. I am that woman that feeds everyone. If the boys come by with their friends, I put out fruit and chips and offer them a drink. I make dessert almost every night. I always make extra food in case one of the kids drop in. I offer food to the boys friends when I grill at the pool. I've come to the realization that this is why my grocery bill is so high, and why I feel like I never have any food. So I'm not sharing anymore, and I threatened my family with a never ending supply of Ramen Noodles if they don't stop eating like animals.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Where Are They Now?

Who can forget these guys? You ALL knew these guys, and their cheesy yet somehow catchy songs. And no one can forget their downfall. Now that you look back, don't you wonder how you ever thought that they were really singing? With their awkward stiff dance moves? They were destined to "Go Bust" from the start. Here's what happened after "IT" hit the fan.....In order to restore their career and prominence after a series of failures, Farian agreed in 1997 to produce a new Milli Vanilli album with Morvan and Pilatus on lead vocals. This all led up to the recording of the 1998 Milli Vanilli comeback album Back and in Attack. Even some of the original studio singers backed the performers in their attempt to bring back some of the fame that had been shed so quickly.

However, Pilatus encountered a number of personal problems during the production of the new album. He turned again to drugs and a life of crime, committing a series of robberies and ultimately serving three months in jail in California. Farian paid for Pilatus to attend six months of drug rehabilitation and plane tickets for him to fly back to Germany. On the eve of the new album's promotional tour on April 2, 1998, Pilatus was found dead (at the age of 32) in a Frankfurt hotel after ingesting a mixture of unidentified pills and alcohol, according to the Associated Press.

Morvan spent the following years as a session musician and public speaker while working on his musical talents. In 1998, he was a DJ at famed L.A. radio station KIIS-FM. During this time, he also performed at the station's sold-out 1999 Wango Tango festival concert before 50,000 people at Dodger Stadium. In 2000, Morvan was featured in a BBC documentary on Milli Vanilli, as well as the premiere episode of VH1 Behind the Music. Morvan then spent 2001 on tour before performing in 2002 as the inaugural performer at the brand-new Velvet Lounge at the Hard Rock Café Hotel in Orlando, Florida. In 2003, Morvan released his first solo album, Love Revolution. He marketed the album through his website and CD Baby.

Fabrice's new songs "Roll" and "Time Will Reveal" can currently be heard on his MySpace. Fabrice is currently recording new tracks for his second solo album, with a release date yet to be scheduled.

Rob and Fabrice spoofed their unfavorable notoriety in a 1991 Care-Free gum commercial ("How long does the flavor of Care-Free sugarless gum last? Till these guys sing for themselves!").

Thursday, June 26, 2008

DRY IT UP

Disclaimer: Since my sister balled me out, I need to say that I am not saying "Boys don't cry". I am saying KIDS in general crying over insignificant garbage is unacceptable.

My words have come back to haunt me. Dry it Up. I say this to my son when he cries for no reason. Unless he is physically hurt, tears are not necessary. I am mean, I know this. My son will not be a sissy, and being that I gave birth to him, that decision is my choice. My daughter had the same set of rules, but I never used the phrase "Dry it Up" with her. He has a certain amount of time to dry it up, or he goes in to exile until he can get it together. It works quite well. "Dry it up Alex or your going in your bed." Miraculously, the tears stop. The downfall to this is that due to 2 year olds taking everything you say, and soaking it up like a sponge, and eventually using it on their own, my sweet little anticts that I used to use on my son no longer work. If I asked him for a kiss in the past and he said "no", I would throw out some fake tears, and he would say..."No cry Mommy..I kiss you". Well...now it goes a little something like this:

Me: Can I have a Kiss Alex?

Alex: No

Me:(fake cry with my hands over my eyes)

Alex: (In a stern voice) DRY IT UP MOMMY. THERE'S NO REASON TO CRY.

I am reaping what I sow....will I ever learn?

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Scarred for life

I was getting changed the other day, and caught in the mirror what I thought to be a blue fuzzy from my sweatshirt on my belly. So I brushed it off. It didn't move. I brushed it off again, it still didn't move. I went to pick it off...to no avail. It was a FREAKIN' TICK. Trying to get in my SKIN! UGH!!!! I haven't seen a tick since I was like 8 and I used to ride my bike in the trails by our house with my brother and sisters. I had to rip it off, and it even left a boo-boo on my belly. I have the sensation of puking just thinking about it. I got in the shower and scrubbed myself to death. I am scarred for life. I am perpetually itchy. I am frequently checking myself. I will now be a neurotic psycho path until the fear wears off. I may need therapy.

emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble

Ever notice how different a word can sound when you put the emphasis on a different syllable? I have been noticing this a lot. It makes me snicker inside sometimes. It's so strange to me that we are all Americans of the United States, yet we all sound so differently. How did this happen? Why do northerners talk so fast? Or why do some Southerners have a draw? Why is it that some words to some have one syllable, and to others have 2?

INsurance....inSURance

I got IT....I GOT it

VEhicle veHICle

JuLY....JUly

Can you think of any?

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Pee Pee Everywhere

I can't take it. My sons aim is horrible. He pees everywhere. All over the toilet, on the floor, If he turns around...on ME. Even though I wipe and wipe and clean up after him, I know if you went into both of my bathrooms with a black light, you would see pee pee everywhere. It's so GROSS. Any pointers on how to improve his aim? He insists on standing up when he goes, and he's short, so he has to prop "his stuff" up on the toilet bowl in order to get it in there, and lots of the time, it sprays like a fountain. If you could see us in a public bathroom, you would crack up. I just pull his pants down, and pick him up in the air, absolutely not touching ANYTHING, and let him go. I should just do that all of the time, but he as to learn how to do it on his own. He has a little potty, and those things are just disgusting. Mine is forever in the shower with boiling hot water running on it. NASTY. Does aim ever improve for boys? Or are my hopes a a pee pee free bathroom just a pipe dream?

Saturday, June 21, 2008

I never knew I was an "Ont"

What's an Ont? I have become an Ont. All this time, I thought I was an Aunt. Or an ANT I guess I should say for pronunciation clarification. Is this a Southern thing? I always thought it was a black thing, and I mean that to no offense. I have plenty of black friends and they know I love them dearly. It's no secret that my black friends are always late for everything too. We call it "CP Time". When your tight, you can say these things to no offense. But anyway, I noticed that my nephews refer to me as "Ont", black and white, I have both. The other day I was at my pool, and a little tween girl said to me..."Are you Isaiah's Ont?" I was at work one night at the restaurant, and I heard from across the way..."You look like Devin's Ont!" That one I'm not always sure I should admit to. So what is the proper pronunciation? Or is it sort of like....you say potato, I say pototo? Is it not particular to any race or geography? Who started this I wonder? All I know is it sounds pretty strange to me. I always thought I was an ANT to 7 beautiful kids. But I guess I am also an Ont.

Birthday Bash 2008


Crazy Kids

The Gang

Celeste Colleen

Robert and I

Liss

Amber and Will

THE BIRTHDAY GIRLS!!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Facia Bella


Beautiful Face

Beautiful Hair

My Beautiful Girl

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

New Looks


CHEESE!!!!!

CHEESE AND MACARONEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

So Fresh and So Clean Crew Cut!

WHO'S THAT GIRL?



Tune in tomorrow...Amber's makeover is at 2pm.....

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Daniel E Corbett 1943-1992

WOW. That's the first word that comes to my mind when I think about honoring my father. He was an unbelievable Man, Husband, Father and Friend. Someone asked me if I called my father today, and man do I wish I could. I was only 18 when I lost him. I'm going to take this post to honor him and highlight the 18 years I was lucky enough to have with him.

He named me Colleen because he wanted me to have the most Irish name in creation. He was very proud to be Irish.

He demoted himself at his job because he was traveling, and did not want to leave my Mother home with 4 kids by herself.

He taught me how to swim, dive and ride a 2 wheeler. I can vividly see these moments in my mind. You were not allowed to step foot on our pool deck without a life vest if you couldn't pass the "swim test". He had a plentiful supply of life jackets.

He raised his daughters to have their own dreams and goals, and to never expect someone else to take care of them.

He made us all go to work the MINUTE we were old enough. We worked for him at our family business. We owned a 7-11 for 12 years. While all of my friends were living carefree and hanging out after school, I had to work from 3-6. AND he paid me FOUR DOLLARS AN HOUR. And said I wasn't worth the four dollars because all I did was eat candy and drink slurpees! But he was molding us, and my siblings and I are all extremely hard workers to this day.

We went on the same family vacation every summer, and stayed in the same cabin.

One Easter morning we woke up to the gift of about a dozen baby chics and ducks.

He got us a horse. When I used to tell kids we had a horse, they thought I was lying.

We were not permitted to have televisions in our rooms so we would all sit together every night to watch T.V. Jessica Fletcher was my idea of prime time T.V.

He had amazing graduation parties for all of us.

He stood on the porch, smacking a bat against his hand as my prom date came to pick me up.

He made my siblings (I didn't make it this far) save money for their first car, and he matched what they saved dollar for dollar, even though he could've bought them the car on his own. Once again, he was molding and teaching.

We faithfully went to see his mother every other Sunday in Queens in an itty bitty apartment that she refused to move out of, but he had to show her that respect, even though we suffered through being packed like sardines and channels 2-10 every Sunday because we couldn't roam the streets of Queens.

He always got us 1 "special gift" from him for Christmas that even my mother didn't know about.

He bought me my very first dozen roses for Valentines Day.

When I was going through my "I don't want to be a 4 eyes anymore" stage, he sat me down and said "Colleen, please don't get contacts. Your glasses are a part of you, they are a huge piece of who you are. (I have had them since age 2) You are beautiful in your glasses. I can't imagine my baby without glasses on." Because of that statement, I have never and will never consider contacts again.

We were FORBIDDEN to quit a job unless we: 1. Already had a new one, and 2. Gave 2 weeks notice. Another valuable lesson of character.

Were were forbidden to call each other names or talk down to each other. The words "Jerk" and "Dummy" were on the same level as swearing in our house.

When he got sick, he wanted to come home. No hospital. He did, and in addition to a nurse, we all took care of him. I used to wash and blow dry his hair, and he would tell me I was burning his head!

He told my mother he wanted a one day service, so people weren't grieving over him for days on end. Well, I'm still grieving 16 years later. He also said he wanted a closed casket because all people do at funerals is critique the deceased person. And he didn't want people staring at him. "He looks good, he looks bad, look how thin he got, look how swollen he is"....I can laugh at that now.

Shortly before he died, he called me in his room, and told me not to go to the cemetery. He said cemeteries are cold and dreary and scary, and he wouldn't be there anyway, to just talk to him from my room, and he would hear me.

After he passed away, he came to me in a dream. He was standing in the corner of our living room, healthy and handsome. He hadn't stood up for the 7 months that he was sick because the cancer had spread and crushed his spine. He sat me down on the couch, and said to me "Do you like me better this way?" And I said "Yes", and he said "Okay, then I'll stay". He also said "I know you wanted to tell me that you loved me". (When my mother woke me in the middle of the night to "Say goodbye to Daddy", by the time I got down there, he was already gone). When I woke up, I expected him to be there. I was obviously grieving and not thinking clearly. Then I realized what the dream meant. "Do you like me better this way?" Meant...standing up, healthy, happy, at peace, in Heaven, with God, and resting. That dream gave me the peace that I needed to get through each day.

This is such a small piece of who my Father was. He IS a legend to this day. My Mother's one and only love, and THE BEST FATHER ever created. I Love You Daddy, and I still miss you everyday.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Italiano 101

Okay, I don't speak Italian. I did take it in school, but someone erased it from my memory with some type of device, I am guessing. My Mother's family is what I would call American Italians. Someone in both of their families definitley came "Off the Boat", but it wasn't my Grandparents. They were born and raised in Brooklyn, and so was my Mother. That's where all of the Italian's go when they come over on "The Boat". Although they speak English, they have Italian in their Italian words. By the way, I love when Southern people say "I"talian. That cracks me up. When I hear people pronounce certain Italian words, it sounds so strange to me. So here are a few Italian translations for the Italian lovers out there.

Mozzarella-Moozadell
Ricotta-rigautha(you have to roll your tongue on that one)
Calamari-Galamad
Capicola-gabagole
Prosciutto-broshoot
Canoli-Ganoli
Cavatelli-gavadeal
Marinara-Madinada

And my all time favorite...I hear my Grandmother in my mind right now...

Garlic and Oil- Galic and earl

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

A / B Honor Roll

She did it! Amber has been working so hard all year to get her grades up. At times, they were plummeting, but I always just tried to help her and encourage her because her teacher said continuously that she was trying to the very best of her ability. With some extra help here and there, she has made all A's and B's this quarter, and is on the A / B Honor Roll! I AM SO PROUD OF HER!!!!! More importantly, she is so proud of herself. She set her mind to something, and she gave it her all, and she SUCCEEDED!!! That is a wonderful feeling for anyone. I know how important it is to her. She never gave up. This is years in the making, not just 4th grade. She has been wrestling with this for a while. Let this be a lesson. Perseverance is very rewarding.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Graham Cracker Goodness

I don't have a name for this dessert, and it may very well have a name, I just don't know it. I got the recipe from a friend in NY many many moons ago. Pre-Amber. I just made it tonight-and it's finger lickin' good!

Ingredients:
1 box of Vanilla Instant Pudding(need 3 cups of milk)
1 Tub of Cool whip
2 boxes of Chocolate Graham Crackers(you will have left overs)

make your pudding, add the cool whip to the pudding, and blend. cover the bottom of square pan with the Graham Crackers. slap a layer of the Cool Whip/Pudding Mix over the crackers. Repeat. Repeat. Get it? With these ingredients, you should get 3 or 4 layers out of it. The trick is to put it in the fridge for a while. Prepare it before you prepare your dinner, and let it sit in the fridge. The crackers will soften, making the next best thing to an Old School Ice Cream Sandwich.

I'm not a big fan of pudding, and I love this dessert. So even if you don't like pudding, just try it, and let me know if you did, and how you liked it. ALSO,you can reverse it, and do chocolate pudding, and Vanilla Grahams. The choice is yours. I use skim milk, and lite Cool Whip, and it's just as good! Bon Appetite!

P.S.-In the background as I'm making my dessert I hear my daughter talking to my son....."Come on Big Boy, let's get your Pull-up on (we're down to a pull-up overnight only!) , it's time for bed! OOOHHH I see a Koolie....I'm gonna get-cha Koolie Alex....." See....I told you I was grooming her!

Friday, June 6, 2008

So Long Bo Diddley



Bo Diddley, the rock 'n' roll originator with the rectangular guitar whose signature beat influenced musicians from Buddy Holly to the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen, has died. He was 79.

He died at his home in Archer, Fla., early Monday, according to his publicist, Susan Clary. The cause was heart failure.

In May 2007, he suffered a stroke during a performance in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Diddley scored only a few hits in more than 40 years of recording, yet his impact on the development of rock 'n' roll places him in a pantheon with Chuck Berry and Little Richard. The maracas-fuelled sound he introduced in 1955 on the song Bo Diddley evolved into what Rolling Stone magazine called "the most plagiarized rhythm of the 20th century."

According to reports, Diddley died June 2, 2008 of heart failure in his Archer, Florida home.

The beat - bomp a-bomp a-bomp bomp bomp - became the driving force on songs such as Holly's Not Fade Away (1957), which the Stones recorded and the Dead used in live shows for years; Johnny Otis's Willie and the Hand Jive (1958); the Strangeloves' I Want Candy (1965); The Who's Magic Bus (1968); the Stooges' 1969; Springsteen's She's the One (1975); and U2's Desire (1988).

The Stones' version of Not Fade Away in 1964 became their first top-10 hit in the United Kingdom and their first U.S. release. In its early days, the band often opened its shows with the number.

The distorted tremolo sound Diddley achieved on his guitar, which was souped up with electronic gadgets, expanded the instrument's range and influenced a generation of musicians such as Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds (which made Diddley's I'm a Man one of its show-stoppers), Keith Richards of the Stones, Jimi Hendrix and a legion of 1960s fuzz-tone garage rockers.

The man who would become Bo Diddley was born Ellas Otha Bates on Dec. 30, 1928 in McComb, Miss. His mother, who was about 15, asked her first cousin, Gussie McDaniel, to raise the child. Diddley never knew his father.

After Gussie McDaniel moved her family to Chicago in 1935, she changed the child's last name to Bates McDaniel. Ellas McDaniel attended public school, where he learned how to box. At one point, he dreamed of becoming a prizefighter.
He formed a band called the Hipsters, which played on street corners before landing a regular spot at a South Side juke joint called the 708 Club. He electrified his guitar using old radio parts and other gadgets, which created the famous vibrating tone.

He gave bandmate Jerome Green maracas he had jerry-built from the floating rubber balls found inside toilet tanks, filled with black-eyed peas.

In 1955, Diddley signed with Checkers, a subsidiary of Chess, the label that featured Chuck Berry. His debut single was the Bo Diddley, backed with I'm a Man.
The record, which topped the R&B charts for two weeks, is considered one of the cornerstones of rock music. It's one of the most influential two-sided singles ever.

After the Beatles led the British invasion, Diddley's popularity waned, though he continued to tour relentlessly for the next four decades. In 1966, he released the album The Originator.

In 1967, after moving to California, he made his debut at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, bringing his electrifying sound to the Summer of Love crowd.

Even though rock music changed, his influence never subsided. The Clash, the seminal British punk band, asked him to open for the group on its first major U.S. tour in 1979.

In 1982, Diddley was introduced to the MTV generation through the video of Bad to the Bone by George Thorogood and the Destroyers. He and Thorogood play a game of pool while billiards legend Willie Mosconi looks on.

In 1987, Diddley was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Two years later he appeared in a Nike commercial, telling baseball and football star Bo Jackson, "Bo, you don't know Diddley."

He was married four times, most recently in 1992 to Sylvia Paiz, according to the Internet Movie Database Web site. Three earlier marriages ended in divorce. He had four children.

He received a lifetime achievement award at the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards in Los Angeles in 1996. He was also honored with a lifetime Grammy Award.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

To Quote My Daughter

"Daddy said he is going to get 2 more tattoos. That would make 8. So when he is a decrepid old man, he'll be all wrinkly and old with faded tattoos."

The Scale-friend or foe?


Do you have a scale? I don't. I think about getting one quite often, and whenever I am somewhere that I see one, I hop right on it, only to frown, or act shocked and appauled, as if someone shoved endless amounts of sweets and pasta down my throat when I was unconsious. How dare they. When your vertically challenged, a 3-5lb weight gain can be significant. So let's see....

Pro-Making sure your a healthy weight to ensure a healthy body.

Con-Stressing out about "The Number".

Pro-A way to keep yourself "In Check".

Con-Getting on the scale everytime you eat a hershey kiss, or getting on everytime you have a bottled water instead of a soda, and hope for results.

Pro-House scales are always easy on you.

Con-The scale at the doctors office always tell the bitter truth, and it's always bad news.

I feel that if I had a scale, it would bring nothing but termoil to my life. I will probably stick with not having one. My method is more simplistic, and less precise. Make sure you wear something fitted on a regular basis. It's when your in your wide-bottomed sweats, cotton capris, or hippie skirts that you lose sight of where you're at. Then you have an urge to throw your jeans on, and BAM!-you need a wire hanger to pull your zipper up. And you know how Mommie Dearest feels about wire hangers.....

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

New Endeavors-Can You Help?

Alright. The changes and discomfort have begun, and so has my mission. I no longer work at my day job. I have been feeling for a while that it was time to move on, and there's no time like the present. SO, this is a huge financial strain, but a great move for me personally none the less. I know God will provide during this transition, as He has been placing in my heart that the change was a must. Then add to the mix that I want to move. I would love to rent a house. With what I am paying for my apartment, which I do not care to utter because you may throw up your last meal, I KNOW I can rent a house somewhere in the vicinity for even less, Less being the key word here for obvious reasons and have more space, and a yard for my kids...etc. So this is my first shot at "Networking".

Other than the personal reasons, I feel strongly that I am not meant to sit behind a desk. Or if I am, it would be in a much more creative way. I would love to be outdoors, work with children, find a creative outlet, find something that requires energy, and creativity. Any suggestions?


I would also love to get the move done during the summer months while my daughter is out of school. Surrounding areas would be South Charlotte, Matthews, Indian Trail....you get my drift? I need to stay within reason of school/daycare/Daddy if at all possible.

So whatcha think? Do you know a guy who knows a guy? Know a family who needs a great Nanny? Know a children's center that needs an energetic creative leader? Have a house for rent?

If your answer is no to all of the above, then please just pray for me through this "uncomfortable time". Thanks so much.

Monday, June 2, 2008

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions

Let me say that again.

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions.

Although this is just a line from a mediocre song, the context is profound.

Good intentions are just that. Intentions. They mean nothing if they are not followed up with affirmative action. If your heart and soul is telling you it's time to make that change, to be obedient to what God has called you to do or to change, then Just Do It. If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it. I feel that this post today was written for me. Of course it wasn't, but I feel the Lord speaking to me through this message. I feel so encouraged today, although big change is in my midst, and I am expected to feel like this, I know that God is with me, and He will see me through.

For anyone who struggles with sin, which is you, you, and you, and you too, take the time to watch this sermon, The Altar of Repentance in the Old School Religion series. It was an unbelievable message. Make the time to allow this message to encourage you. You will love it.

Happy Monday!