Girls AREN'T always made of Candy....

 What a great weekend we had. The sun was out and so were we. We started in South Atl and made our way back to our side, North Atl.

We stopped at a little shopping plaza and ended up in Petco. Anyone who knows me, truly knows my kids love Beta Fish. Who wouldn't? They are cheap, don't last long and are fun to replace. We had betas a few months back, we woke up and all three were dead and YES they were in separate tanks. We intentionally waited to purchase new ones so let's see what happens.

So, the Petco Associate sold us a really great deal. We got a divider tank for betas, with a filter system and everything. So, when these two pass onto Fishy Heaven, we can start a mini goldfish aquarium.

So, here's the kicker. I finally set the tank up on Monday. ( I'm telling you our weekend took us all over Ga). I added the water and few rocks( note to self more rocks and plants) and treated the water. About an hour later I added the fish. The girl is named Britt( in honor of my kids Godmom, oh they love her so) and Rudy( the boy, son's fish).We enjoyed watching them get adjusted to the water. I mean they went from a small confined space to swimming in the Gulf of Mexico( iKid, lol). Time passed and we continued on with our day. I eventually feed them and  we moved along.

As the day turned into nite( how ironic), I happen to look in the tank and low and behold, Britt had somehow managed to be on Rudy's side. I mean, I do wear glasses and maybe thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Thank GOD for the iPhone because I immediately took it out and looked at the pics. YUP, that lil fresh girl snuck into Rudy's space. I watched them for a while and then switched her back. I got my cup of water and went to bed.

Tuesday AM I proceeded to tell my daughter and she asked, "mommy are you sure"? Excuse me.... I also told the Mr and he responded, "I don't know babe, maybe because it was late you thought that was what you were seeing"... what the geezie, nobody believed me? I mean it was late, is that really what I saw???

I figured, I wouldn't pay those darn fish any attention and secretly hoped someone else would notice it too... Before I could blink, my daughter yells" Mommy, where's Britt"? My mind almost said Boston but then realized she meant the fish. So, were both looking in the tank and this girl is back on Rudy's side. AHA!!! My eyes weren't  playing tricks on me. The Mr even came over too look and I won't repeat the words that came out of his mouth. She's a fiesty lil fish to say the least. Rudy was chasing her like a mad fish. Biting at her tail, head butting her. And with our own eyes, we watched her immediately go back to her side when it became to much for her!!! lol

Moral of this blog, Females we aren't always the sweetest!!! Yeah, we're sweet but we're trouble makers too 2 say the least!! lol

( This blog was written in fun, enjoy for what its worth)

Signed,
My Milkshake!!!! LOL

Treating Me with Common Sense ( Money Wise)

I had this teacher in High School( Mr.Frankie Hall) who was the cheapest, funniest Southern man you would ever want to meet). Mr. Hall was really adamant on reminding us to attend church over the weekend and getting in touch with the "Good Spirit" as he would call it. He was a Peaceful man but we could tell that life's experiences made him the way he was.

I had his class twice during High School, for African American Studies and Economics. I enjoyed AA Studies, but economics opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about cash.  By my sophmore year, I had held down the same after school job for about 1 year and received a few raises ( Yeah, 125 weekly tax free was good money at that age). I wasn't the best at saving but I was never broke( I lived by the rule of tithing 10percent to my place of worship, still live by it now too).

Mr. Hall always had a way of amping us up in Economics Class about what he was going to teach. We would always hear talking in the halls about "Common Sense" and secretly( The Nerd in ME) anticipated the introduction of the book.
When he FINALLY passed it out, I quickly put my name in it and went through the book. Lessons on how to save money, how to invest and live better were just a few of the many worksheets we would be working on. I was excited.

There was this one lesson that has stuck with me throughout life and I'm now going to pass it on and share with you. As a mother, there are so many times I find myself forgetting my needs, putting aside my wants and focusing directly on the needs of the home and my children. People have the misconception that once you become a business owner and work for yourself that money flows freely. That is definitely a MYTH. You have to mentally and financially set yourself up to lose a little here and there. I'm learning how to budget my income $100 less just in case something arises with my clients.

But here is the challenge, in order to make time for yourself you have to invest in yourself. Another challenge has been paying myself what I feel I'm worth. Yes, another hard one but I'm getting the hang of it.

THE CHALLENGE: Find an empty jar and place it in a secret place that only you will have access too. At the end of each day, you can do 1 of 2 things, dump all of your change from your pockets, wallet etc or add $2.00 (DAILY). You will follow this process for 3 months straight without touching the jar or trying to count what's in there.  By the end of the 1st quarter( 3months) you can either purchase something for yourself, or invest it or save it in your account. The challenge is: that YOU will use this on YOU and nothing ELSE.  Sounds like alot but in actuality it is not. You are rewarding yourself. Job well done!
Thanks for being a dedicated Wife, Mother, diligent Worker, a Peace maker, A listener.. etc. These are all thankless jobs that go without the extra acknowledgement.

Since we are in mid January, you can either start today or wait til Feb 1st. If you are willing to take part in the challenge please, at the end of this blog, leave a comment with your name. I will blog follow-up posts just to check everyone's progress and the hear your stories. We have to build each other up and be apart of a support team for our sisters.

So, here's to an awesome 3months of saving and actually reaping the benefits of "kinda" putting you 1ST!!!Thanks Mr. Hall, years later Common Sense is still apart of my LIFE~



Signed,
A New Handbag in 3months...lol

Kids just don't Understand...( to the tune of Parents just don't Understand)

After my daily bus stop trip( to send my daughter off), I had a quiet moment so I jumped on twitter. I get a kick out of some of the am tweets I read. So, I was twitter"duced" ( like introduced) to @bigkwabenaSharif by my sistergirl. I figured, he's a Northerner like moi and I'm sure to get some laughs. I'm telling y'all since I started following him, the laughs have been non-stop.

This am, he tweeted, "The amount of balling ima do when I'm in my forties is gonna be astonishing. LOL" I hollered. When, I think of my 40's I'm like its quickly approaching.. This dude getting ready to ball out soon. Then, he shared he started having kids when he was young.. That shattered all of my hopes and dreams. When I'm 40, my oldest will be 15 and my youngest 8. Yeah, I won't be balling out anytime soon!! LOL

Shoot, I'll still be having bday parties at Chuckie E. Cheese and places like Catch Air, because there's such a gap between my children. 15, as a girl was crazy. I was busy staying fly, & being popular! The little money I did get was used buying sneakers, getting my hair done and shopping in the Gap Outlet in Downtown Boston.

However, a 7 year old girl and boy experience things differently. When I think of my brothers, those dudes we're climbing trees, still hanging in the park, taking karate classes, playing with Ninja turtle figurines and being cops and robbers. Doesn't sound like its going to be alot of fun in my world. LOL

I'm telling you, our kids don't understand. When you're a "REAL" parent, there's NOTHING you won't do for your little people. There was a time in my life where dropping $300/400 for a handbag was nothing to me. Now, 2 kids later I have to wait til those things go on sale( and sometimes find them on clearance). I used to get my hair done weekly, now if I remember or have a free Friday AM, I'll go in. and let's not talk about tax returns( which he's tweeted about also), because although it's some extra money, Real Parents, end up finding ways to spend it on the kids( after taking care of a few things of importance).

So, while ballin out in my 40's would be nice... I'll politely wait til I'm 50. My youngest will be 18 and if he knows like I know, he'll definitely be at some University on scholarship. He won't be getting my greens anymore( I Kid, no matter how old they are, they will still be my babies)...

Signed,
I'm Ball OUT 1 day too!!!

( Thanks for the Inspiration& Laughs Kwab)