Groupthink7

Good Morning All, I hope all is well.  I have been a little lazy with the blog.  I have been doing some soul searching; trying to be the best person that I can possibly be.  I have some guilty pleasures like shopping I am trying to limit but after watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta last night, I need to add reality television to the list.  The ladies on RHOA went to the motherland Africa (South Africa to be exact) and acted a plumb fool.  Normally, when I watch any reality television, I just take it as a grain of salt and use it for my amusement.  As last night's episode unfolded, I got to witness materialism or should I say pretentiousness from two of the ladies Marlo and Sheree.  I am not going to do a recap but the ladies were arguing on how many Rolex watches they have, who returns clothes to Neiman Marcus, who paid cash for an Aston Martin, and etc.  I was embarrassed.  As I watch the RHO of any city, it show...

Good Morning All, It has been a hard couple of days.  I haven't been in the mood to blog.  I am ready to go back to work.  I have a bit of cabin fever.  I went on a second interview yesterday and found out that I had to do a third interview.  That bit of news just made me feel down.  I feel that most companies have people going through hoops just to gain a job.  I would be lying if I said that I don't mind.  I am just anxious.  Getting back to good news, I lost 4 pounds since last week.  Remember the Lafayette 148 pair of pants I bought from the personal stylist at Nordstroms a month ago?  They are way too big.  I couldn't wear them to my interview yesterday. However, I was able to get into my tester skirt (the skirt that determines if I gain or lost weight) and jacket.  It was a suit that I purchased from Ann Taylor Loft about 6 years ago.  I never wore the skirt but always the jacket with a pair of black pan...

Good Morning All, I got up this morning with the intentions of going to the gym to weight lift.  I walked outside into a winter wonderland.  I live in a condo so we have snow removal services; however, they only do common areas and not a good job.  So at 5:40AM this I was removing snow from my car and making a path for my husband's car (he was at work) and my daughter to walk Nutmeg.  I had the intentions only cleaning off my car and going to the gym.  I didn't make it to the gym.  I cleared out my two parking spots, two of my neighbor's parking spots and sidewalks for my daughter and Nutmeg to walk.  I didn't have to go to the gym because it was a workout shoveling snow.  I didn't go inside my house till about 7:30AM.  Almost two hours shoveling snow. I felt great.  I could of stayed longer; however, I didn't want too because you have to be careful of shoveling snow when you are a certain age.  I workout and I think I am ...

Good Afternoon All I am feeling quite blue today.  Is it because it is 16 degrees outside and snowing hard; is it Blue Ivy (LOL), or is the Cobalt.  Red is my favorite color; however, it is just something about cobalt blue.  It is an electrifying color that has a lot of hints of purple and it can make anything pop.  I loved the color so much that two years ago, I purchased some cobalt blue Ugg boots.  Also, I have a cobalt blue down jacket with hood from Lands End Canvas.  Last month, I shared with you a clutch bag from Clare Vivier that I wore in the summer with jeans and my striped nautical shirt.  I have shared some of my favorite items in cobalt blue to ooh and aah, and add a hint of chill to an already chilly day. Blessings!!!!!!!! http://seevivier.com/foldover.htm http://www1.bloomingdales.com/shop/product/ugg-australia-classic-short-boots?ID=582986&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results http://www1.bloomingdales.com/shop/product/...

Good Afternoon All!!!!!!! Twins are on the brains today because I was watching The View and there were a set of identical twins on the show getting a makeover.  They find themselves choosing the same things inadvertently to wear and they wanted an identity of their own. If you are familiar with twins, parents often dress twins alike.  Twins run in my family and my husband's side of the family.  My baby sister has two fraternal twin girls and when I want to buy them things not only do I have buy one, I have to buy two.  My mother wanted the twins to have matching Burberry dresses, and I couldn't get my head around  buying two dresses for toddlers at $300 each. Well, when I buy my nieces things to wear, I have a problem of buying two of the same thing.  I can find a pretty little outfit in the size I need; however, I can't find a duplicate.  I will not purchase the outfit unless there are two identical outfits.  I inadver...

Illustration by saint.barbie               Good Morning, I couldn't sleep.  It is about 1AM in the morning and I am up blogging away.  However, I did go to bed around 7PM.  I will declutter my brain and then go back to sleep until I have to get up for the gym. The beginning of the year always means out with the old and in with the new.  Stores always advertise sales on storage containers for Christmas decorations or things that need to be stored.  Stores like the Container Store advertise shelving and closet solutions along with hangers. As part of my clutter resolution which I do several times a year, I clean my closet and donate anything I don't wear anymore to the Salvation Army or the Purple Hearts.  I also go through old papers and bills and toss them.  Decluttering for me isn't just throwing away things I don't need or storing away things not being used, but decluttering peo...

Good Morning and Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr., One of my favorite pastimes is reading other people’s blogs and getting some inspirations by them.   Some say that most of the blogs talk about the same things such as fashion, travel, food, music, and etc.   Why do we need so many blogs talking about the same things?   Everyone has a perspective on the common themes popularized on blogs today.   My pastor talked about tithing yesterday and how all things belong to the Creator and the Creator needs 10% of everything we have.     What stuck out is that we are a society that is based on individual wants which results in selfishness.   For example, when some women see a good looking woman or a woman that is perceived to be that way (i.e. celebrities, socialites, and etc.); they find a way to tear that woman down to satisfy their needs to be considered beautiful.   When the Creator made us, there wasn’t a one size fits all.   T...

Good Morning All, I hope all is well.  Well, today is the two week mark of the new year.  It is also the first day after my 14 day cleanse.  I am having my first cup of java as I type.  I went back and forth on whether or not should I have this coffee because I went two weeks without it so far.  I must admit that the first 6 days of not having coffee left me with headaches so bad that I had to pop aspirin.  My husband convinced me that I should go ahead and have a cup of coffee which I am doing.  Another milestone that I have reached was two weeks without shopping.  Yes, it has been tough.  When I can't buy anything, I see all of these things that catch my eye such as a red pair of Jimmy Choo Amina Patent Leather Peep-Toe Mary Jane Pumps.  I love red and shiny things.  Red is my favorite color.  I love Jimmy Choos because it is my Christian Louboutin alternative.  They are very comfortable.  As I mentioned bef...

Good Evening All Sorry for the delay.  I have been kind of a slacker especially today.  Today was the first day of snow for the season in Chicago. Yes, the first day.  We haven't had a white snow day since March, 2011. Also, was my first day back downtown Chicago this year, first time I saw an old colleague of mine and close friend since we were both laid off back in November today; my first time seeing the new upscale Walgreens that just opened and last but not least, the first time going to my favorite show, Windy City Live. I had a great time on the show.  I met the shows hosts Ryan and Valerie and they look amazing.  I even won a complimentary wine tasting at my favorite restaurant that serves wine, Coopers Hawk( http://www.coopershawkwinery.com/ ). I also watched a martial arts demonstration by a guy who was a former Marine and a protege of Lupe Fiasco's dad.  The sensi (teacher in Japanese) didn't mentioned that Gregory Jaco was Lupe's ...

In the news you always hear about how public schools are not teaching children the right skills to be competitive in today’s global economy or how college degrees are not preparing students for the jobs that are available.   A colleague and I recently had a discussion about ideas on how schools can be fixed. He was studying for a Masters in Public Policy at Northwestern University in Chicago and I have a Masters in Public Administration.   We always share ideas on how public policies can be created to support public schools.   Being as cynical as I am, I talked about ideas vaguely but wanted to speak on things that are beyond our control without offending in the workplace.   Working in corporate America has taught me that some of the things that you are not to talk about are politics, religion, and sometimes sports.   I ask myself on a daily basis, why you can’t talk about politics, religion, race, and sexuality.   Those are things that we as a s...

Good Evening and Happy Monday!!!!! I was watching my favorite talk show Windy City Live this morning and they were talking about women and men gaining weight after the age of 40.  The discussion was about people gaining on an average 2 pounds a year because the body changes after 40.  A woman was going though menopause at the young age of 43.  Being as random as I am,  I was thinking, I need to take some testosterone.  Since a man's metabolism is higher than a woman's; if I had testosterone I wouldn't gain weight.  Anyways, I think I have a little testosterone in me .  I am a bit of a contradiction.  My daughter says that I am a girley girl; however, I don't have a lot of female friends because of the cattiness and I like things that are masculine.  I purchase men's cologne most of the time because I like the way it smells.  I love cedar, patchouli, and anything woodsy.  I tried to give my hairstylist some of the fragrance s...

Good Morning!!!! Welcome to the second week of 2012.  I am on day 8 of my body cleanse and fasting from shopping.  It has been hard and by the grace of the Creator, I am hanging in there.  So far, I have lost about 5 pounds and I am able to get back in to my tester skirt.  I know you are wondering what is a tester skirt.  The tester skirt is like the pair of skinny jeans you have in the back of your closet hoping one day you can get in them.  In my case, my tester skirt is a skirt I purchased about 6 years ago when I was at my ideal weight and I use it to see if I gained weight. When I can't zip  my tester skirt, that means I will need to cut back on the calories.  Anyways. I was on the Internet surfing as usual, and sometimes I Google my favorite celebrities just to be kept abreast of what they are doing.  Well, I Googled my all time favorite singer, Janet Jackson.  She was named by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment ...

Greetings All!!!! Routines are so hard to break.  When I get up in the morning about 3AM, I go and check my Blackberry.  When I checked it this morning, I received an email from Lands End Canvas about a stock-up sale.  The only thing I can think of was ugh.  I can't buy anything if I wanted to.  I am fasting for 30 days from shopping in solidarity with the Creator and my Church, I don't have a job yet, I am cleansing and losing weight, and last but not least; I don't need a damn thing.  As you may know, I love nautical things and I found this little number at Lands End Canvas; a 3/4 Sleeve Sailor T-Shirt Dress so perfectly named for me; I am a former sailor.  The dress can be seen at http://www.landsend.com/pp/34sleeveSailorTshirtDress~219250_59.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::D45&CM_MERCH=IDX_Women-_-DressesSkirts&origin=index .  When I get off of my restriction or I mean fasti...

Good Afternoon and Happy New Years 5th Day I want to take this opportunity to lighten the mood from yesterday's post.  I went on a tangent yesterday, however, it is an issue that needed to be addressed.  I feel that there is a gap that needs to be filled for the girls that are really curvy or are between the size of 0-4 and 12+.  We gets no love.  Well anyways, moving on to greener pastures for now.  I want to share with you some updates since my computer had to be replaced.  I am trying to get familiar with my new computer because my two computers that I have a laptop and a desktop are 4 and 6 years old respectively.  I received some good news yesterday.  I received three tickets to attend a taping of my favorite show, Windy City Live.  I am so excited.  I don't know what to wear.  Any suggestions?  I am open to any comments, really I am .  Also, I received my last purchase of 2011 day before yesterday.  It...

"Your outward image is critical in reminding people that you have control." - Condolezza Rice, Former Secretary of State There are so many blogs, magazines, and television shows that focus on runway size models.   Women wearing a size 0-2/4 are considered to be the most beautiful but in the real world, that is just not reality.   Women go through dangerous extremes to achieve something that isn’t real.   Being a woman in her late thirties, I don’t have the desire to revert back to my size 3 with a 13 year old body.   I have curves. Not the curves that are often associated with extra in all places but the right places, but the right places and a small midsection. Medical experts say the most diseases that are afflicted on people are associated with people that have belly fat.   I call it the posterior in the front instead of the back.   As I mentioned, there is not a one size fits all.   What about the girls that fall in the size 6-10 categ...

Good Afternoon All, You got of love it.  My computer is acting really stupid.  I ran out of memory on my computer. That is what happens when you have three people including a teenager using the same computer.  I have a back-up Toshiba but I don't like it.  So, I ordered me a new red laptop and hopefully it will be here tomorrow.  I feel that I am held hostage without having a working computer.  So, I will be posting later this week once my computer is back on commission.  I have a question for readers, how often do you replace your computers with a new one? Blessings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Years Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am absolutely siked that we are in 2012.  I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve and if you are reading my blog, you are not suffering from a hangover. As you may know 2012 has 366 days in it because..... it is a leap year.  Today is the day that I start my cleanse and give up shopping for 30 days in solidarity with my church.  Shopping is going to be hard, however it is one of the things that I struggle with the most. If I am going to continue to grow spiritually, I have to give up the things that are keeping me from my walk with the Creator. Many people use the new year for giving up things or self improvement. I think that everyone should do a purge of something in their lives.  That can be organizing and getting rid of clutter; giving up an addiction like food, alcohol, drugs, porn, gambling, Facebook, or whatever demons that you are dealing with.  Besides shopping, I plan on purging all the ...