Sexy in My Sweats

From a toddler I was considered a "tomboy". I would much rather sit on daddy's lap & watch Magic & my Lakers then play barbies with my sister. I tried to wear my Nikes with my Yellow Easter dress, even got caught playing touch football in my school dresses a time or two. Let's just say sports came natural to me. Being a "lady" didn't. I still remember Sweethearts Dance my freshman year of high school and Auntie B let me borrow her dress and her HEELS!! Whoa. Not only had I never walked in heels, I couldn't walk w/ out looking like I was dribbling a basketball. That was a rough night, for my feet.

Since then, I have since bought many pairs of heels, I walk rather easily in them and I even have a decent dress collection. However, I am still much more comfortable in sweats!! I think I will always be a jeans & t-shirts girl. I'm 28 and have been this way my whole life, so I doubt I will all of a sudden become a "girly-girl". I have friends that look fabulous even when they go 2 the grocery store and I'm just not that girl. But, I think I'm sexy in my sweats. I really do, but I'm starting to believe I am alone in this thought. Which is not unusual for me.

I have all the other so-called "female" traits. I love to cook. I love when people enjoy my food. I bake for a living www.theSweetPeach.com (shameless plug). When people eat my desserts and smile, it's one of the best feelings. I love kids, absolutely adore them. I can spend more time w/ them then adults. There innocence is refreshing. I just didn't get the love for shopping, dress-up and girl talk! I'm usually the one female in the group that says can ya'll take this in the other room, the game is on!

I know guys love the sexy heels, short skirts and lots of legs. Well, I hope they like sweats too! Yes, on occasion I will dress up, but 350 out of the 365 days of the year I will probably be in sweats or jeans. That's just me. I dated this guy once who would always complain that I didn't wear enough dresses. I tried. I bought a few, but I just had no reason to wear them outside of hot summer days. I think I'm sexy in my sweats. I mean what's more sexy than a woman just coming home from running her business to cook you a hot delicious meal in sweats?? Since I'm not a guy I can't answer this. Maybe you guys can.

Are You Ready for Some Football??

The Long Boring Summer is over and football season is finally here. Get ya' Popcorn ready!!! Man, I can't wait. I'm looking forward to a T.O. outburst in Buffalo, an Esteban Ocho Cinco touchdown celebration, a Tom Brady to Randy Moss "up-top" touchdown connection, a coaching rant post-game interview, a Pacman Jones sighting, and the Bengals having more arrests than wins. I love this time of year. I live for this season. I have my fantasy leagues locked and loaded and ready to go, let the trash talk ensue. Please understand, I am a female, but more than that I am an athlete and a fan. I'm juiced that Mike Vick is getting another chance on the gridiron.

An anonymous source close to the UCF football organization told me 3 years ago that Brandon Marshall would get himself kicked out the league, so far he has been wrong, but there have been some close calls in his tumultous career thus far, and each season I tune in like I'm watching my favorite soap opera. I hope he wises up, because he is a beast. Larry Fitzgerald, almost single-handedly won me Fantasy League championship last year, and he is the best receiver in the game!! I'm telling you right now, Maurice Jones-Drew is my man 50 grand, and who I am picking in all fantasy leagues, if he is available. I can't wait to see how many twitter fines the NFL gives out, and to see if there is an athlete dumb enough to twitpic the play calls, LMBO. Well, don't think it is too far fetched. I mean, Chris Cooley did take a blog picture of his member, and post it. So, I guess you guys want my pick now for the Super Bowl Champion. Well, I'll tell you this much. The Championship game will be Giants vs. Steelers and anything is possible. If you know me, you already know who I will be rooting for... I've had a terrible towel since birth!!!! Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!!!

Happy Father's Day

I can remember it like it was yesterday, It was opening day of the King Park little league. We had just had the opening ceremony and once again, I was the only girl in the league, but that didn't bother me. I knew I was cold, thanks to my Dad. He taught me everything I knew, up until that point, about baseball, how 2 choke up on the bat, keep my eye on the ball, and run like someone was chasing me. I was later even given the name "Greyhound", but that didn't come until my hoop days, (thanks to Coach Calhoun). My dad helped me become a pretty good ball player and a fierce competitor. I wanted to be the best. All his coaching came in handy on my first at-bat. I was nervous as a pimp in church. I just kept looking up in the stands after every pitch to hear his advice "wait for a good pitch, relax..". Finally, my pitch came, right down the middle, smack, single up the third baseline. Perfect, I was in position to do what I did best, steal bases. I waited for the first bad pitch and I was off, stole second. Another pitch into the ground, I was off to third. I was determined to score the first run in the inaugural MLK league. So I waited, took a look at my Dad and he said, "watch the pitcher". I knew I was stealing home and nothing was gonna stop me. At eight years old, lots of pitches end up in the dirt and everywhere else, luckily for me that is just what happened. As soon as that pitch left the pitcher's hand I was off. For a slight moment I thought I was Ricky Henderson and all I could hear was my dad yelling, "Go baby girl, go Treenie". Score!! I slid into home, safe. I was so excited. I couldn't stop cheesing. 

My dad was so excited all he kept saying was that's "My baby girl", and for me that was the biggest reward I have ever received. Throughout my life I did almost everything just to hear my Dad say "That's my girl", from every All-conference honor, all-star appearance, classroom accolade, my college degree (I'll finish my Master's eventually, sheesh), to even career choices. I didn't realize how much I sought my Dad's approval until recently. I wanted to be the best at everything I did, just so I could make him proud. I tried to be perfect at everything. I was my own worst critic, because I didn't want to let him down. He never put pressure on me or made me feel like I had to be perfect, it just came with the territory of being "daddy's little girl". I'm from a big family, plenty of siblings, but for some reason, I was always closest to my Padre. 

As I got older we had our problems, and certain things caused huge strains in our relationship. We became distant. As far as we drifted apart, I still silently sought after his approval. I needed him to be proud of me to validate what I was doing, but the older I got the more I noticed, that I didn't really need his approval. He has been proud of me since the day I was born and even if he never said it again I know he is proud of me now and I will always be "Daddy's little girl". My father isn't perfect and he's made a lot of mistakes, but if it wasn't for him taking me to little league practice, catching the city bus with me to summer league games, riding his bike to bring me lunch, because I forgot it arguing with my brother that Magic was better than MJ (I was 10 and I'm from Long Beach), then I wouldn't be half the person I am today. So on this Father's Day, I just wanna say thank you to Michael Allen. For a man that never had a father, you turned out to be a pretty good one. 

Love Always, 

Your Little Girl

Treenie-Beanie 

"And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord". 

Ephesians 6:4

Firing Mike Brown???

Is this really how the NBA offseason is going to begin, should the Cavs fire Mike Brown? Not, who can the Cavs acquire to compliment LRJ, but should we fire the coach that led us to 3-straight postseason appearances. Yes, Cleveland has Lebron James, arguably the best player in the game, but Lebron alone cannot win an NBA title. Michael Jordan alone couldn't do it, neither could Shaq, Kobe, Tim Duncan, or even Larry Bird. If the Cavs want to bring the Larry O'Brien trophy home to Cleveland, then instead of worrying about whether they should fire CPA Mike Beezy, they should be going out and acquiring a "Pippen" to compliment his Royal Highness, ala the Lakers in getting Pau Gasol. 

Michael "His Airness" Jordan has 6 championship rings, coincidentally so does Scottie Pippen! Actually, it's not a coincidence. It's a fact. This may be a star led league, but no one player can win a championship by themselves, it takes more than that. Shaq needed both Kobe Bryant and D-Wade to fill up his ring display and David Robinson had no championships until Timothy "Mr. Fundamentals" Duncan stepped on the scene. This is a concept that Jerry West, Mitch Kupchak and Danny Ainge perfectly understand. You need more than just one star and some role players to win in this league. The NBA is just too good. Firing the coach isn't always  the answer, especially not one that just goes out and wins, and when he does lose it is to a better TEAM.  

Mike Brown took the '06-'07 Cavs to the finals and lost to a better Spurs team. Last year the Cavs lost to the Boston 3-party (clearly the best team in the league) and this year they lost to a better and more balanced Orlando Magic team. It wasn't SVG's superb coaching or Mike Brown's lack there of, it was trying to win a 7 game series with a one-man show. Mike Brown comes from a good breed of coaches, championship caliber coaching. The Popovich Regime knows how to win championships. He doesn't lack knowledge of the game or the ability to put his team in a position to win. What he lacks is a Pippen?

Doc Rivers looked like an amazing coach last year. It didn't hurt that he had 3 All-Stars/potential Hall of Famers on his squad to lead Boston to the championship. Phil has never won any championships without the best player in basketball on his squad and another All-Star. In no way am I trying to diminish Doc & the Zen Masters skills, I just want to highlight the fact that they had the "BEST" and they still needed one more. Yes, Mo Williams made the All-Star team, (as an alternate), but he's no Pippen, D-Wade, Kobe Bryant or the Boston 3 party.  If Cleveland can keep LRJ, Mike Brown and add 1 more All-Star they will win, but to expect to win with  just the Vitamin water laboratory experiment that is Lebron James (he is clearly not human), then you are asking too much! You will be disappointed just as Philly was when all they had was A.I. 

Golden Showers and Apologies!!

I'm walking down the street and have a super Murphy, is it appropriate to pick it? When is it appropriate? Do I have to wait until I get into a dark corner by myself? 

Or how about this, I use the bathroom before I get in the shower, but as soon as the water hits me I get a peeing sensation. Do I have to get out of the shower and use the bathroom again or can I just save energy and have a golden shower right there?

What about Flatulence? I'm usually a stickler for the vibration of the anal sphincter and anything that emits horrendous odors. I think it is so disgusting when people fart in front of me. But I have to say, on occasion I do get gassy. What's the proper etiquette for accidentally (notice I said accidentally you extreme Farters), passing gas while others are in the room?

Another one that has just been on my mind. In some countries it is proper etiquette to burp after a good meal, but this is not one of those countries. Is it okay to burp in front of people just because you are full? Or is it when u get familiar with people all decency rules go right out the window, burping, farting, wedgie picking is all good??

Well you let me know... I wanna have proper etiquette. I can't meet the president and be picking my butt, passing gas because they served broccoli and taking golden showers in the White House if it's unacceptable. 

Waiting for Love

Love...What is it? Lauryn Hill made a whole album dedicated to it, Musiq said it's a word used in vain, God gives it unconditional, me, well, I'm waiting patiently for it. I was the ultimate fairytale child. I thought Love would come in the form of Prince Charming, sweep me off my feet, be my knight and shining armor and we would ride off into the sunset wearing chucks and singing "Me & My Girlfriend". I had been secretly, and sometimes not so secretly, unofficially planning my wedding since I was 12 years old. To say I was naive about love would be like saying Michael Jordan was a good player, a huge understatement. I knew nothing about "love" and the power that it had. I'm not talking about the love shared between family and friends. I'm talking about the love shared between a man and a woman. 

When I first fell in love, it blew my mind. I was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions and couldn't tell my left from my right. When Usher sang "Caught Up", I could swear he was talking about me. I remember the first mix cd I ever made to express everything I was truly feeling at that moment. To this day, that was the best collection of songs ever compiled on one cd, (in my opinion). The idea that someone could make me feel so good, so "loved", was something I couldn't express, so I let Maxwell and others say the words for me. I thought I would feel that way forever.

Fast forward a few years and the only song playing is LTD "Where Did We Go Wrong". That's the present tense of "love" in my life right now, trying to understand the dissolve of it and more importantly, waiting patiently for it. I don't know what form it will come this time, and who will be the bearer of it, but I do know, I will receive it just as before, with open arms. Some people who have been hurt get burdened by the pain and hurt and never allow love to reemerge in their lives. Me, I can't say the pain hasn't been hard, but just the thought of having that same feeling all over again, allows me to PATIENTLY wait.  To know someone's touch, embrace, and kiss could make me melt, give me butterflies and have me making mix cd's is something I owe to myself to experience again. 

I'm not a real sappy person or much of an emotionally expressive person, but I figured "Love" is something we have all experienced in some form or another and its truly what this life is about. So until then, I'm India Arie, "I am waiting for love, why are you hiding from me". 

Hip-Hop Started Out in the Heart

I grew up a hip-hop kid. House Party was probably one of my favorite movies of all time. I loved Fresh Prince, Doug E. Fresh and Big Daddy Kane. I thought Tupac was a genius, I wanted to give Biggie "one more chance", and thought I could rock "Hammer" pants because he did, LOL (I'm not perfect). I understood why NWA was so angry, and why they had to rap the way they did, but what I will not just sit idly by and accept is these rappers that talk about all the weight they push and people they kill. 

Let's stop the madness. If you are a rapper, by profession, you are not killing anybody nor are you the next Frank Lucas. If you want to be a dope boy or a mass murderer, than fine, go throw your life away, but please, do not make songs about this felonious life, put it out there for the mainstream so that young kids actually hear this, and believe this is reality. It's not!!! 

I grew up in the hood, broke and hungry for a better life. That does not give me the license to then go off spouting how many "holes I'll put in a N****s dome". Shedding light on the destitute reality of the ghetto is one thing, but glorifying and portraying it as the next big thing is absolutely ridiculous. 

We have absolutely got to do better. It is unacceptable to be stagnant in our mindset and still be on this monotonous garbage. I will always love hip-hop. That will never change, but I refuse to support most of the garbage that is being pumped through the airwaves and onto my radio. I wanna give a special shout out to Myspace Music & itunes, because it allows me an avenue to hear good quality artist and pick and choose the music I want to listen to. If these big record companies wanna keep signing and producing artists that continue to spit "hot garbage", then the music industry will continue to suffer.