My Pic of The Day: THIS is Swag!

Listen.  If this isn't inspiration, I don't know what is!  My momma calls this lady, the "Queen" and I concur.  Chaka Khan is looking amaaaaazing these days, isn't she?!  She's 60 lbs lighter, 59 years old young and on the "10 Hot-o-Meter" scale, she's a 12!  




Chaka Khan



Sing To Your Mama...She'll Love it! (Happy Mother's Day!)

I think Mother's Day should be celebrated all year long.  Moms rock on sooo many levels, don't they?  Saying thank you, I love you, you're the best, you're my world, etc...doesn't seem like it's enough.

Sooooo.  *pauses & reflects*  This year I wanted to do something different.  Something daring.  Something meaningful. I love music (so does my Mama!), so I decided to sum up how I feel about my Mama with a special song....  **Clears Throat**  

*Sings*  Loooooving youuuuuuu!  Is eeeeasy cause you're beautifuuuuul....La la la la la.  La la la la la.  La la la la la laalaalaaalaa.....doo dooooo doo dooooo  *high note*  Aaaahhhaaaaahh!!  ♥

Love you Mama! (Your check is in the mail babe) :-)   HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

My Mama. With her cute, sweet self. 

LOL! It's Mother's Day!!

 In honor of Mom's alllll over the world... This LOL is on me. (You're Welcome)  :-)

Explain This To Me Please....

This woman is being mauled by a cheetah and her husband captures it all on film.  Somebody wanna explain to me why this man didn't put the camera down and help his wife???  Doesn't come to her rescue.  Not once.  Please explain this to me....  I'm listening.  *steeple fingers*

(FYI--She's ok... She received stitches for her injuries.)

The Virgo Woman...What You Need to Know

There's something to be said about astrology. Is it always true?  I don't think so.  But, it does give us a baseline to understand each other a little better. 

It's no secret, I'm a Virgo.  Hmmmm....what does THAT mean?  It means a lot actually.  And If you're so lucky to have a Virgo woman in your life (wink), there's some basic things I think you should know:

We're perfectionists.  It's true, we pursue perfection in everything we do.  That's a good and bad thing. It can be exhausting and causes us to be a little critical at times. Give us a minute...we're working on this one.  

We're a woman for all seasons.  We can change our mindset to adjust to even the most difficult situations of life. A strong woman. A versatile woman.

We're not as reserved as we appear to be.  A lot of people think Virgo women are shy *I shrug*, but the truth is, if you take a sec to get to know us, you'll see that we're quite entertaining...and charming. :)

We find humor in almost everything.  Our sense of humor is sharp, quick and smart.    

We are completely devoted and loyal.  Ever heard of a ride-or-die chick?  That's us!    

We're independent and free thinking.  Intellectual connections are very, very important to us. 

We're genuine.  Our motives are honest.  Never malicious.  Highly ethical and idealistic.

Singer, Pink = Virgo Woman

Famous Virgo Women:

Beyonce

Amy Winehouse
Raquel Welch

Nicole Richie

Lola Falana

Cameron Diaz

Jada Pinkett Smith
Shania Twain

Mother Theresa

Sanaa Lathan

LeAnn Rhimes

Anika Noni Rose

Sophia Loren

Selma Hayek

Joan Jett

Jennifer Hudson
Brooke Burke

Lauren Bacall

Cass Elliott

Gloria Estefan

Video of The Day: Chillin'

Over seven million views on YouTube.  I'm sure he (or she) is thinking... "Stupid humans. I'm just sitting here minding my business.  What's the big deal?  Get a life." :)

10 Reasons Why I Loved New Edition (Still Do!)

1. When I was growing up, there weren't a lot of boys on TV who looked like me. New Edition   
    caught my eye and well....the rest is history.

2. Bobby Brown - Ok, so...I know Bobby has had some issues. Who hasn't??  But, back in the
    day, Bobby was an amaaaazing entertainer!  New Edition was good, but I think Bobby made
    them great!

3. My mama and I would sing New Edition songs together. We both knew the lyrics to all of
     their hits. How dope is that??

4. Ummmm....have you seen the Candy Girl video??? I soooo wanted to be in that video! :)

5. Collectively, they were great.  But, Ralph Tresvant, Bell Biv Devoe and of course, Bobby

    Brown could rip it a-la-solo. 

6. I liked watching them grow up.  We were around the same age, so it felt like I knew them.  

    Like I really knew them.

7. They always seemed like regular dudes. Very humble beginnings. I can appreciate and
    I respect a "come-up" story.

8. I'm a sucker for good choreography.  Their tight steps really put them in a league of their
    own. So much that Beyonce paid homage to them in her 'Love on Top' video.  Dope.

9. If it weren't for New Edition, there'd be no New Kids on The Block, no Backstreet Boys, no

    Boyz II Men, no 'N Sync.... I could go on & on, but I'll stop here. 

10. They've been in the entertainment business for over 30 years...and they still got it!  You
      gotta give them props for that! :)

My Pic Of The Day: Her Royal Flyness (Part II)

Michelle Obama is just so friggin...fly!  I mean she just... *sigh*.  She kills it every. single. time. *sighs, again*  #swag

Awkward Conversation of the Week.....

Me: I'm about to get real serious about my workouts.  Like-for real, for real.  Summer's coming!

Skinny Friend: Me too, girl.  

Me: What do you mean? You're like a size 6 or something, right?  

Skinny Friend: Please!  I wish.  I'm a size 8.  Total pig.  Team Chunk.  What size are you?   

Me: *sips wine....blank stare* 


*Side Note: I'm larger than a size 8 and I'm very sensitive about my weight.

My Pic Of The Day: So Cute...I Can't Stand It!

This just....slays me!  On a cuteness scale from 1-10, this is like a 13!!

Women's History Month Spotlight: Fannie Lou Hamer

March is National Women's History Month!  Time to shine the spotlight on a few of my favorite ladybugs.  One of my all-time favorite ladies in history is Fannie Lou Hamer.  It really bothers me that people don't know her.  Her story is amazing.  As my momma says...she was something else.

About Fannie Lou Hamer (1917 - 1977)

• Born in Montgomery County, Mississippi, she was the granddaughter of a slave and the youngest of 20 children.
• At age six, she began helping her parents in the cotton fields.

• By the time she was twelve, she was forced to drop out of school and work full time to help support her family.
• In 1962, she'd had enough of sharecropping. Leaving her house in Ruleville, MS she and 17 others took a bus to the courthouse in Indianola, the county seat, to register to vote.
• After being jailed and brutally beaten for trying to vote, she
  began working on welfare and voter registration programs for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

• Her most famous quote: "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."
• She became the Vice-Chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, attending the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in that capacity.
• Prior to her death, she was inducted into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, as an honorary member.

Most Memorable Lines from "The Help"

Real Quick:  If you haven't seen the movie 'The Help', go check it out.  I won't go into the storyline.  By now, everyone knows...  Some people loved the movie, others despised it.  Make the decision for yourself.  *Click here to read my review of 'The Help'.* 

Love it or hate it, it'll definitely make you pause, think and re-think.  Here are just a few of my favorite lines from 'The Help':    

"You is kind.  You is smart.  You is important."  -Aibileen

"Love and hate are two horns on the same goat."  -Charlotte Phelan

"Minnie don't burn no chicken."  -Minnie

"If you can love your enemy, you already have victory."  -Preacher Green

"Eat My Sh*t.  I said.....Eat. My. Sh*t."  -Minnie 

"Courage sometimes skips a generation. Thank you for bringing it back to our family."   -Charlotte Phelan

My Video of The Day: Colin Powell & Affirmative Action

I met Colin Powell years ago when he was contemplating a run for the U.S. presidency.  I was so intrigued with him.  After all these years, I still am.  One day....I'm gonna sit down and have a conversation with him.  Watch and see.  

Here's Mr. Powell from HBO's "The Black List", speaking about affirmative action. His words struck a chord with me.  I couldn't have said it better myself..... 

My Pic of The Day! (86 Years & Counting!)

Look at these two!  Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher. They're too beautiful... And get this: They've been married for 86 years!  He's 105 years-old and she's 103 (they were 19 & 17 when they married!)

They've lived through the terms of 15 presidents, they sleep in seperate bedrooms and have attended seperate churches throughout the years.  Hmmmm..... :-) 

Note: Miss Zelmyra in this pink suit...is giving me life!  LOVE it!!! :-)

Mr. and Mrs. Fisher



Time to Partay: "Party at Tiffany's" Star is Making Memories and Dreams Come True

Say hello to Tiffany Young, party planner extraordinaire, owner of Pink Pastry Parlor and star of the Oprah Winfrey Network's 'Party at Tiffany's'.  One glance at Pink Pastry and you'll see that Tiffany is not your typical party planner. You name it and she can make it happen!  She's all about that pink power (Yes!), female empowerment (High-five) and having fun!  Check her out:

Tell us a little about Tiffany, the genius behind Pink Pastry Parlor…

Where did you grow up?  I grew up here in Atlanta, Decatur to be exact.  I was born in Monroe, LA, but left when I was 3 years old.

Where did your love of party planning come from?  I just LOVE KIDS!  I designed my shop to be everything a girl would want for her birthday: A sleepover room, spa, stage for dress-up, classroom for crafts, tea party room, a mini shopping mall, an all pink fun house, and CUPCAKES of course!!!

Tiffany Young, owner of Pink Pastry Parlor 

Have you always loved the color pink?  Always.  It says "girl power" and that's what I'm all about.

What inspired you to open Pink Pastry?  The drive to just do something I’ve always wanted to do. To be my own boss and play with kids all day. It empowers girls and fulfills my true calling at the same time.

‘Party at Tiffany’s’ is an amazing show!  The look on the little girls’ faces when they see their parties is priceless. What kind of feedback have you been getting from the show?  Wonderful feedback!  I get fan mail from little girls all the time! I love it when they say, “I’m saving up to have a party with you!”

What’s the most important thing to remember when planning a party?  To make EVERY element reflect the birthday girl, not the price and not the parent, but all about the birthday girl. It’s all about her on that day.

The Pampering Spa

My favorite party on ‘Party at Tiffany’s’ involved lots and lots of poodles. What’s been your favorite party to plan so far?  Do you have a favorite type of party to plan?  Wow, I’ve done over 650 parties in a year, that’s hard to narrow!  But the “type of parties” that I love to plan are the ones where the birthday girl is a kind of shy, yet 15 minutes into the party she's the most talkative one!  Pink Pastry has that effect!

This one’s for my 62 year-old Auntie. She wants to know… Can she and her friends have a party at Pink Pastry?  LOL!!! Of course, it’s called the “Sweet 16…Again” Party!!!!! Bring it on!

Pink Pastry Make-Over Room

Fast forward five years…to year 2017.  Where do you see Pink Pastry?  I see Pink Pastry being in every major city, where every little girl can experience the party of a lifetime!  And I also hope to have a successful non-profit organization, so that every girl (even the less fortunate) can experience it as well. I’ve accomplished every goal I have put my mind to, and those are the ones on my mind now.

What's up next for Tiffany?  Let's see....More TV, multiple locations, and more parties! What else is there to do?? Lol!  Pink Pastry ROCKS!!!!! 

Click Here to check out more pictures of Pink Pastry Parlor.

Pink Pastry Parlor

8465 Holcomb Bridge Rd. Suite 1000

Alpharetta, GA 30022

(770) 650-PINK (7465)
Website: http://pinkpastryparlor.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pinkpastryparlor  
Twitter: @PinkPastryP

Tyler Perry's Good Deed: Live Chat!

Dear Whitney, I Will Always Love You...

Not much to say here....

My heart is so filled with sadness.  For me, Whitney Houston didn't just represent a great talent. Growing up, she embodied grace, elegance and undeniable beauty.  She ruled the the music world for many, many years and left a lasting musical influence on a lot of people.

I hope she'll be remembered as a legend.  I hope her legacy includes her being a mother and a daughter, someone who touched so many of our lives with her talent, her struggles and her death....

R.I.P. Whitney.

Whitney Houston (Arista, 1985)

My Video Of The Day: Music REALLY Is The Language Of Love

I love music and I love kids, so this one was a no-brainer.  I have no idea what this lil munchkin is singing, but she's so freakin' cute and her passion is priceless.  I fell in love with her right on the spot! :-)

 

Her Royal Flyness...

First Lady Michelle Obama looked absolutely stunning (as usual) at the 2012 BET Honors, didn't she?  The event was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. on Dec 14th.  The show airs on BET on Monday, February 13th, 9:00 pm (EST).

10 Lessons I Learned From Don Cornelius

I hate to hear about a suicide death.  It's even more disturbing when it's someone you know...or someone you feel like you've known forever.  

Don Cornelius needs no introduction.  The fact that he started Soul Train with $400 and turned it into the most iconic TV and music dance show of our time is....beyond amazing.  I learned some valuable life lessons from this man:

1. Don't just be a businessman, be a business man. (See the difference?)
   
   
2. When you follow your passion, everything will fall into place.
   
   
3. Always, and I mean always look your absolute best. #swag
   
   
4. Dancing, good music....makes everything better.
   
   
5. Sometimes it's not what you say, but how you say it. (Love, Peace & Soul)
   
   
6. Don't be afraid to fight for something you believe in...especially if you're right. (Dick Clark's 'Soul Unlimited'. Look it up.)
   
   
7. Stay committed to your decisions, but flexible in your approach. (Diversify)
   
   
8. Be gracious to others and the universe will be gracious to you.
   
   
9. Leave a legacy.
   
   
10. Dream big.  Really big.
    

    

    Don Cornelius

    
                                         

Tionna Smalls Keeps It Real with New Book: Men Love Abuse

Relationship advisor, entrepreneur, author and star of VH1's reality series What Chilli Wants, Tionna Smalls says ladies, yes it's true...Guys love mean girls:

Relationship experts seem to be popping up everywhere, but you’ve been doing this a long time.  How did you get into the relationship business?  What motivates you to do this?
I thought I knew it all when I broke up with my first boyfriend, then I started dating and I was like Oh My God, these dudes are off the chain.  So I started writing about my dating experience and wrote the first independent version of the book, "Girl Get Your Mind Right!" Once I did this, I received a job from Gawker (a media website) and the rest was history.  I don't really consider myself an expert, but I can battle with the best...I am very obsessed with male and female interaction and also decided to go back to school to become a therapist for women; helping them with love, self love and self-esteem, etc.  I was born to do this.

So, if I want to be a bi*ch and get hitched, outside of picking up a copy of “Men Love Abuse,” what should I do first?
You have to first ask yourself, are you too nice? If you feel you are, that is the first step...Knowing is beautiful. After that, you just start spending some time with yourself, learning what you like and what you don't like and once you know that, you just don't play and do your thang.  If you become selfish and just think about you, you will be OK because then you won't be afraid to lose.

Women are taught to be nice, polite and cordial.  Should we just abandon that theory altogether? 
Yessssssssss.  We should only be nice, polite and cordial occasionally.  LOL.  No, we should always be polite and cordial, but never be too nice.

True or False: Guys love mean girls.
They sure do. The more you don't give a F***, the more they want to be with you.  It is so true.

Is there such a thing as too much abuse?

Yes. Some women could be too b*tchy or too demanding. You need to know how to do it without being too ABUSIVE, because then you are going to turn the man off.  You just want to give enough abuse to get your point across. Overall, you just can't play with a man.

It sounds like ‘abuse’ will get a man, but will it keep him?

Abuse will definitely get them and you lighten up with the abuse to keep him, but no matter how long you had your man, you better always stay strong with your convictions and not allow a dude to do whatever to you.  You can't be afraid to check him even if you are in a long term relationship, but this ideology is mostly for women who are trying to snag 'em and bag 'em.

What three things do you want women to take away from “Men Love Abuse?”
The number one thing is to not be too nice under any circumstances, to be strong with these dudes no matter how much you like him, and to never sweat a guy.  We are queens, they are supposed to sweat us.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest dating mistake women/men make?
They get too open off of dudes, they give too much and they do too much.  They love too fast, fall too hard. They get rid of their friends and hobbies once they meet a man.  And most of all, they stop talking to their other Boos once they meet one guy they like. Take the time out to date! 

What’s the best love/relationship advice you’ve ever received?
All my great advice about love and relationships came from my father.  He says a lot of little gems, but these two stuck to me.  He said the problem with women is they give too much to a dude and they don't have to.  That was some deep 'ish' and the second advice was "Don't come home with a wet a** and some Chinese food."  Those two quotes made me the woman I am today.  I am not playing.

Men Love Abuse will be released on January 27, 2012.  The book is currently available on Kindle and Nook.

Follow Tionna Smalls on Twitter: Twitter.com/TionnaSmalls 

R.I.P Jamesetta Hawkins

No words...

Etta James

PINK PSA (Public Service Announcement) - MLK Day

It's MLK Day!  Take a minute to reflect & remember... 

It's a great time to reflect on Dr. King's vision, sacrifices and contributions to our country. His fight for human rights and his influential voice throughout the civil rights movement produced monumental changes. 

I don't think any other American has made an impact on this country like Dr. King.  I'm reminded of him daily. He's everywhere.  His thoughts, his words, his dreams....they're still here. 

"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

10 GOP Quotes That Made Me Say O-M-G!

Even if I tried, I couldn't make this stuff up.... 
(*File this under: "I Can't Believe They Said That!")

1. Rick Perry: When asked to provide specifics on how he would fix Washington's business climate: "When I get there, there'll be three agencies I'll end: commerce, education and, and, um, what's the third one?  Let's see..."  *long pause*  "Oops."
   
   
2. Herman Cain: When he becomes President of the United States, he wants his codename to be.... "Cornbread."
   
   
3. Michelle Bachmann: "Our founding fathers worked tirelessly to end slavery."
   
   
4. Newt Gingrich: "If combat means living in a ditch, females have biological problems staying in a ditch for 30 days because they get infections....Males are biologically driven to go out and hunt giraffes."     **blank stare**
   
   
5. Ron Paul: "I would have voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act."
   
   
6. Mitt Romney: "I should tell my story.  I'm also unemployed." (to a group of unemployed Floridians.)
   
   
7. Rick Perry: On the BP Oil spill... "From time to time, there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented."
   
   
8. Herman Cain: On his immigration policy...  "I'd build an electrified fence on the Mexican border that could potentially kill anyone trying to enter the country illegally."
   
   
9. Michelle Bachmann: Regarding the HPV vaccine...."I will tell you that I had a mother last night come up to me here in Tampa after the debate. She told me that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter."
   
   
10. Rick Perry: "You can always follow me on Tweeter." (in a videotaped message to a crowd of conservative bloggers & social networkers).

My 2012 Theme Song (Hey--Don't Judge Me)

Soooo....I won't go into detail about me and my theme songs.  Click here to find out the scoop on THAT & to see my theme song from 2011!  

I'm SO excited about 2012, my Pink vision (wink) and all of life's opportunities, challenges and victories.  Bring it on!!! :)

Some folks listen to gospel, jazz or something really soft & mellow to feel inspired.  Me?  Not!  Whenever I have an important meeting or I'm nervous or unsure about something, or when I just need to feel motivated & hyped, I turn to this.... 

So, ALLOW ME TO REINTRODUCE MYSELF. My name is Steeepphhh!!! :) 

                                         Public Service Announcement by Jay-Z