What's in my cd player in the summer? These three are a must!

I love music and the following songs are not only apart of my summer soundtrack, but they are apart of my life soundtrack...

Summertime by Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

This song is the straight up truth when it comes to describing what goes on during the summer! And when the radio stations start to play it in preparation for the beginning of summer, it amps me up!

Summer Breeze by The Isley Brothers

I love to roll my windows down in the car in the evening and have this playing. The summer breeze caressing my face and blowing through my locs...yeah, summer breeze makes me feel fine...

Golden Time of Day by Frankie Beverly and Maze

I love listening to this song right after work, in my car with the windows down, when the sun is starting its descent. Actually, this song works no matter what season we're in. Whenever the sun is starting to make its transition, it's the golden time of day. But summer is the best season to have that moment.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson...The King of Pop

What a day this has been...

Michael Jackson, a man whom I've been a fan of it seems all my life, passed away this afternoon. A true icon...it's difficult to find the words to describe what I'm feeling right now. Earlier today, when I read that he had been taken to the hospital due to a cardiac arrest. I was thinking that he would be okay; no way would this man be taken away from the world, not yet at least. Then, via Twitter, I started to see folks saying that he passed away. Still, I could not believe it! He had to make his comeback, give a middle finger to all the haters out there who said he didn't have what it takes anymore. While I wouldn't have been able to attend one of the concerts in London, I knew that there would be footage or some other way that I could experience THE CONCERT OF THE CENTURY!

So no matter what was said, I refused to believe that Michael was gone. I sat at work, tissue in hand, tears in my eyes trying not to break down as I read all the news websites and listened as radio stations made the claim that he was indeed gone. Feeling numb, I left work, listened to the radio so I wouldn't miss anything. Got home, watched the news and began to cry when they said the LA Times announced his death. Cried even more when CNN started playing a clip from a TV show when Michael was performing "I Want You Back" as one of The Jackson 5. Cried off and on, for awhile as I watched all the coverage and the music clips. Reminisced about my childhood, listening to my parents Off The Wall and Thriller albums (for real vinyl records on my record player, lol). Music that would have me laughing, singing my heart out one moment and crying like a baby because he was so vulnerable and I could feel what he was feeling. Mind you, I'm 7 or 8 at the time, but I knew what he was feeling and you couldn't tell me otherwise.

What were your fave MJ moments? I remember when a Michael Jackson video was an EVENT!!! And if you missed the world premiere of the video, you should have felt shame. I would be on the phone with friends, talking about how cool this "Black or White" and "Remember the Time" was. The first time I saw "Smooth Criminal" and the entire Moonwalker movie...Michael Jackson is apart of many memories in my life...I'm going to miss him so much...getting teary eyed again....

Really, what were your favorite Michael Jackson moments?

Thinking about this makes me feel something like what John Mayer was saying on Twitter...I feel like a piece of my childhood is gone. Not trying to be dramatic or anything, but this truly hurt my soul.

I wanna be loved....

Yeah
I said it
I wanna be loved
And another thing
I want to love back

See
I'm not a selfish woman
I have every intention
of loving a man
as strongly
as he loves
me

That is what Lauryn said, right?
Reciprocity
That is what I'm looking for
what I'm craving
and aching for

Closed mouths
don't get fed, so
no fear of
rejection here
anymore
Vocalization is
necessary

I said
I want to be loved
And
I want to love back

There is nothing
selfish about
a woman who
has every intention
of loving a man
as strongly
as he loves
she

Okay, you may be asking yourself: what brought this about? I enjoy writing; it is said that one can find catharsis in writing. I needed to purge. I've been feeling, lately, that I'm missing out on something major. Music does something to me; I love it so much. In me, it brings about realization. That said, I've been listening to this song by Jeff Bradshaw (feat. Glen Lewis) called Beyond the Stars. It is beautiful; the music and words do something to me. So I decided to really open up here and share something deeper about my self. That's not to say that what I post on this blog is meaningless. What ever I say on here means a lot to me, but I realize that most of what I post deals with my external concerns. I want to dig and deal with some internal things as well. This was my first attempt; hope you understand and possibly enjoyed. Below is the YouTube video for my inspiration:

Let's Go Back...Way Back....

Check out this video...one of the best ever...

People use 9-1-1 for any and everything...

Watch this CNN clip:


What I find funny about this is not the fact that the man called the police about the food order being messed up, but the fact that the man said the employee was laughing at his brother-in-law's broken english...did you hear the employee speak? She has no right to laugh at anyone...

FYI

According to an article The Wall Street Journal website, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling that says the police cannot interrogate a person without the presence of an attorney. Now, my first reaction was "That's some Bull@#$^" because I'm fairly certain that there are officers who do some underhanded things to get a confession (not because I watch police dramas and movies, but because its human nature). My next reaction was "Okay, so what, you can interrogate me all you want to, but I don't have to say anything and I'm not confessing to something I did not do!" Now, I think that my final reaction to this is a mixture of the two. This is bull@#$% because there are people who, after intense bullying and threatening, will confess to crimes they did not commit, and the original ruling gave them a little protection against that. Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that true criminals find protection from that as well, but punishing the innocent does not seem fair to me. So, what can be done? I'm not sure, but I don't think that the president can overturn the Court's decision, so petitioning him maybe fruitless. Perhaps I can contact my state's representatives and they could help in some way? I was never a fan of my Political Science class, so I'm not very knowledgeable on the steps one can, and should, take in a situation such as this. But there has to be something that can be done...

Your thoughts on this?

Operation Product Tester: Sephora Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss

Last Friday, I went on a day excursion to The Galleria in St. Louis for my birthday. While there I stopped at the Sephora Store and did some browsing, while waiting for Terminator Salvation to start. As I was walking the aisles, trying different products out, I remembered that I am a VIP Beauty Insider and was eligible for a free birthday gift. I rushed to the cashier counter and told the lady the deal and received not only my birthday gift, but a rousing "Happy Birthday!!!!" from her and several other Sephora consultants = ) My free gift was a three pack of mini Sephora Brilliant Shine Lip Glosses (a spectacular gift for me, a person who is a gloss junkie, lol!). I was exhausted once I got home from my trip and this weekend was relax mode for me, so I didn't try on the glosses until last night. You can see my before and after photos below:

This is my before pic; I prepped my lips with a great lip sugar and mint scrub to slough of dead skin

(lip scrub: Lip Strip by Laura Geller)

This is Bronzed Beauty

This is Rosy Glow

This is Precious Pink

While I love all three, my favorite is Bronzed Beauty! All three glosses have a sweet, candy scent; I licked my lips expecting a sweet taste to go with the smell, but no such luck. This may not be a bad thing, to me it means that the glosses won't interfere with food and drink. It doesn't hold up to a lot of activity, so you will have to reapply. However at $10 a tube, I think its worth the money for all the shine you get. I will definitely purchase this in the future!

All products used in this testing can be found on the Sephora website; click here!

I like to relax in bed

Ligne Roset Maly Bed

I love to sit in peace and quiet...everything turned off. When I do that, relaxation comes easily. Every now and again, this is the perfect way for me to de-stress-ify.

HILARIOUS!!!!

Something funny for your enjoyment...



You got knocked the F#@% OUT!!! LMAO!!!