SLOW down

I am so sorry for my absence.  I did warn you though.. Back to school is not for the weak... It is for those who love seeing new students (and their nervous parents who are worried and HAPPY about leaving them at college)!  I have completed my last big program for the year and all I want to do is REST!  That would be in a perfect world and I assure you that my world is far from perfect.  FAR FAr Far far from perfect...

I managed (By the grace of God) to not buy any items off HSN for the past two days.  Carol's Daughter had some great deals but I was reminded that I did not need any of them.  I also allowed for someone to take a picture of me and that reminded me that I have been neglecting the Elliptical machine and have decided to make a date with him ASAP.  ASAP means next week.  I need to rest people.  I have been slacking on everything lately.  Even my home looks like a tornado has swooped through and terrorized the place.  I will get it back in order soon. 

I spoke to one of my besties last night.  Our friendship spans over 14 years. WOW!!! I mentioned her before.  She is my dear Queen B and she is expecting her first child, MY Baby B!  It's funny to think about our friendship.  She laughs at me and has learned not to take me seriously.  She hates it when I clink my fork on the plate or my teeth and I hate it when she chews ice.  We were talking about how things have changed- more specifically how we have changed.  She says that I have gotten soft in my OLD- Young age.  I tell her that she is right.  It's funny to think about how we were and what we were up to in Jr High and High School.  I won't bother you with the memories.... Well maybe just one.  Her mom would allows us to ride around the city (Queen B did not have her drivers license- I had a permit) as long as we did not head out of city limits.  We would go to wherever... Just drive around, switching between the country station and the R&B station.  Queen B is the reason why I listen to SOME country music.  And I love her for that.  Being up North is not a bad thing.  But it does make you miss those who you love the most. 

Christmas Can't come FAST enough! 

Love you~

TC

Rescue Stranger

Tuesday... Will you be terrific to me?  I hope so!  I had a pretty fantastic Monday and am trying to keep the momentum going.  Which is kind of tough considering that I have a big program tomorrow and am still suffering from lack of sleep.  Yesterday, my wonderful brother decided that he should call me at 2:41AM.  My brother is notorious for being an accidental caller.  He usually does it when we get off the phone and then forgets to lock his phone and calls me back immediately allowing me to hear whatever he is doing.  Well this time I decided to not answer the phone and if he left a voicemail then I knew it was important.  He left me a voice mail but it was of him getting ready to go to the airport.  I love my sibling.  But 2:41AM was way too early!  Then I had a hard time going back to sleep. 

Usually, every morning I leave the same time as my neighbor.  This would be fine if I actually left at the same time but it depends on how my morning is going.  She seems to have the same problem as me!  This morning when we closed our front doors at the same time she said "How do we leave every day at the same time?"  I was intrigued.  She never speaks or makes eye contact.  I introduced myself and she inquired about the t-shirt that I had on yesterday morning.  I told her where I was from and she said that she was born in my home state.  She was so nice and it was good to finally know my stranger neighbor's name. 

And last but not least I wanted to leave you with a picture of Rescue Randy!!!  There will be a new aquatic opening tomorrow at the J-O-B and they gave us a sneak peak of the new space last week.  I was startled the other day when I walked into the pool area and saw Randy sitting on the bench.  Have a terrific Tuesday.  Love~ TC

Start your engines...AND GO!

Happy First day of classes!!!! New school clothes, class schedules, cafeteria lunches and new hair do's are here!!!!! I have somehow managed to survive this past week and am now kicking off programs for the kiddies!!! NO time off until Labor Day weekend (more to come on that).  I have programs for the next week and a half and I am extremely excited to see the students... Summer is a quiet time to prepare for the upcoming year but now that the year is here- You can see what you have been planning.  Good luck to all of the wonderful people who are in Education!

Enough talk about work- I do not have any interesting stories to tell you.  Well that's a lie.  We had some bizarre weather on Saturday.  It was WINDY and raining.  I thought that I heard the sirens go off.  The Northerners up here laughed at me (their sirens don't go off, if they even have them!)  As a Southerner you know when to get locked up in a closet or bathroom.  Tree limbs are still down today.  A few fires broke out.  A man was even killed because a tree branch fell on him at a camp ground sight!  YIKES! 

I will try to update later this week but with this hectic school year beginning, who knows if it will happen. 

Giggles and More

I am struggling with being PRODUCTIVE today.  I would rather be taking a nap, spending time with the DVR or just relaxing.  There will be time for that later but now I need to get it together.  I walked to lunch today and as I was returning 3 people were behind me.  The lady said to one of the men "So, when you almost went to prison, what were the charges?"  My ears immediately perked up!  I needed to hear what he was going to say so I could determine if I was in danger and if I needed to break out into a run.  His reply was "Grand theft."  WHOO... 

I am also contemplating going on a diet.  I have done the fat smash diet and it worked.  I was inspired because I caught a movie on Lifetime this weekend and they discussed the Cinderella Pact.  I usually don't watch Lifetime but I had watched all of the shows on my DVR and there were no other options on TV.  I am sure that I won't get on the good foot until after school starts. 

On Sunday I baked some homemade chicken strips.  It is such a simple, easy and quick recipe.  I have made it a few times before.  I love the recipe because you don't have to fry the chicken strips.  The chicken can be eaten as strips, chopped up for a salad, thrown into a tortilla or anything else that you can imagine.  I told my cousin about the recipe and she said that she would like to try it so here you go.  I can't remember where I got the recipe and I had to search low and high on the Internet to recover it.  I like the chicken strips with my homemade BBQ sauce.  Of course I do a few modifications.  In step 2 when it says moisten chicken with milk- I always let my chicken sit in the milk for a while and I make sure to doctor the milk up a bit with some seasoning- Lawry's and onion salt.  I still have leftovers and will hopefully be finishing them by tomorrow.  But if you are cooking for a family- I am sure that they would be gone the first night. 

So I guess I will try again on the productivity thing.  Have a fantastic Tuesday....

Love~ TC

Food for YOU

I could bore you with the usual about how school is getting ready to begin and how busy life is, but that would be BORING!  So instead I decided to switch it up and talk about FOOD!  Well first I am going to provide you with a picture because I promised that I would give you a look at my box of goodies from HSN.  On a bad note I would like to mention that Carol's Daughter will be back on HSN on August 30.  If you love me then please call me on that date and make sure that I did not buy not 1 single item. 

Box of Goodies(Shampoo, face cream, Jada's dynamic duo and Cool Mint body gel)

Now that I have that out of the way let's talk about food....  On Friday, I hit up the town with my sweet friend Ksan.  I was repaying my friend because I was indebted to her.  We hit up our local favorite Chinese eatery.  Usually, when we leave the place we are full and happy with our decisions.  Please take note that I said Usually!!! I ordered Basil Pineapple Fried Rice.  I was disappointed in the dish because I think that they burnt the basil, the pineapples were not fresh and the vegetables were not what I expected.  Have you ever been to a Chinese eatery and seen Mexicans working in the kitchen?  Now don't get me wrong, everyone needs a job.  I get that but I did not understand why I had jalapeno peppers and big chunks of green bell pepper and onions in my rice?  However, I did eat every bit of that rice. That is all that I will say about that.  Ksan ordered of the Dim Sum menu.  For those of you who don't know what Dim sum is please click here for a definition.  There were at least 15+ options off that menu but Ksan chose 3.  And because it's Monday and I'm in a good mood, here are some pics....

The first pic is of a BBQ sandwich.  I am accustomed to southern style BBQ.  This was definitely not southern.  The BBQ had an Asian/Chinese taste.  The roll was very yeasty and chewy because it had been steamed.  Ksan added that it needed more meat.  The second pic is that of a sesame ball filled with mochi and sweet red beans.  The filling to me was like peanut butter or nutella.  It was not our favorite dish.  NOT ONE BIT!  And last was a steamed dumpling concoction.  I LOVED it!  It was pork, shrimp and water chestnuts.  It was simply fabulous.  We finished at the Chinese place and decided to head down the street to a local favorite.  We feasted on french fries (Ksan's favorite food dish of the night) and I was intrigued by a very different straw

In case you can't tell, it is a metal straw.  I loved it.  Added a little something different instead of the regular plastic straw.  I had to be careful because everyone now and then I would knock my tooth on the blasted thing.  The restaurant even sold the straws for $2.25 a pop!  I did not purchase one but I was tempted. 

I have heard from a number of you on different topics that you would like for me to discuss.  I am working on that!!!  If you have not called me and told me what you want me to talk about please feel free to add a comment.  I fixed it (I think since many of you said that you could not add a comment because you don't have a Google email) and would love for you to write that you read my blog and what you would like to see.... and if you haven't, please follow the blog on the top left hand side of the blog!  I would beg you but I don't feel like acting like Keith Sweat today!  So just amuse me and add a comment and like the blog!  Have a fantastic Monday....

Love... TC

Keep on Keepin on

It's still not Friday!!! The weeks are getting shorter and shorter!  As expected I am not getting sleep.  I am slightly a perfectionist.  Only when it comes to my programs and events!  I have to work this weekend and the next two.  I am not minding the hectic schedule but I am terribly upset with the lack of sleep.  I am having the hardest time shutting my brain off so that I actually get rest at night.  And because of the lack of sleep, I have been having the worst headaches.... This too shall pass!!! 

In the mail I received my Box of Carol's Daughter goodies!!!!  I was so excited!  One of my friends told me that she was excited to finally know someone who uses the products.  I told her that I would list out a few more of my favorites!  Also, I just wanted to state that the products are not just for Black Women!  White women use them as well.  If you are a white woman and are interested in a few of the products, I would give you my suggestions!  Plus if you are reading this and your my friend then you know that what I'm using is something that you will love!  The Tui jojoba hair sheen is great.  The smell is nice and exotic and gives your hair a little sheen without it being too oily.  The hair balm is AMAZING.  Point blank... I use it when I flat iron my hair and I don't know what I would do with out it.  Its not heavy and leaves my hair so nice and smooth.  The Black Vanilla Shampoo and Smoothie Conditioner leave my hair smelling great and feeling so manageable.  When I first used CD's shower gels, I was not impressed.  Yes they bubble up when they do the demonstrations on HSN but its different when you are trying them in the comforts of your own home!  I have tried Almond Cookie and Cool Mint.  I am in love with the Cool Mint.  Its so light and refreshing.  It leaves your skin tingly (in a good way).  But the lack of lather bothers me.  I would love to see what a CD bar of soap would do!!! 

I will put up some pics tomorrow of the products and some other favorite items... But right now I have to take care of this stinking Headache!  On the upside, I can watch Real Housewives of DC tonight! 

Happy Thursday... Love TC

A lovely day

Happy Tuesday? A slow Tuesday for me but I'm gonna make it do what it do! I had a FABULOUS weekend (no rest) but a great time. My Dear and Wonderful friend KSan braved the outdoors with me at the Soul Food Festival on Saturday afternoon. The day was perfect. The weather was sunny and cool (in the shade). The festival took place at one of the parks in the city and around 20+ vendors were set up with everything from greens, fried fish, cobblers to cookies, snow cones and cotton candy! KSan and I met up with two friends from work and sampled some of the cuisine. We had some pretty darn good bbq froms Dubbs Grubs. The sauce was good and the chicken was juicy! We had greens and a well seasoned mac n cheese. My favorite food of the day had do be the sweets! We had some not so peach- Peach cobbler. It was served cold and just was not a good cobbler. We had a different peach cobbler from another vendor and it was much much better. The cobbler was served warm and had a good crust. It had abit too much cinnamon for me but it was pretty darn tasty. Have you every tried Sock it to Me cake? If you have not please find someone who makes a good one and beg them to bake it for you. The Sock it to Me cupcakes at the festival were superb! The icing was lip smacking good. My favorite sweet had to be the lemon cake.

This little piece of cake survived a few tumbles. I dropped it at least 3 times before it arrived in my kitchen! The yummy gooey middle filling was ridiculous! It wasn't too lemony or two sweet... just the right amount of everything. There were also singers, artists and painters at the event. A perfect lovely day with friends!

The Truth

I love reading blogs! I knew for quite a while that I wanted to start my own but did not know if people would want to read what I have to say. Most of the blogs that I read talk about marriage, new baby, family, photography or what not. Last week I read where a blogger had given tips on how to start a blog and what to write about. She stated that you have to have a theme! Obviously my blog has no theme... I am not a mommy, I don't take pictures, I don't talk about gardening. So I guess my theme is just giving you the best of me. Someone asked me why I talk about my crockpot. I like to have warm meal prepared when I get home from work. People also ask why I don't use my name or pictures. My response is that I am very private. I have no problem sharing myself with people who love me. As time continues, I will unlock the door and give you more of me. But right now this is what you get!!! Tiny Chocolates. People have also inquired about the name. My mom's nickname was Tiny. I have a love for Chocolate and every summer my mom would tease me about being her "Hershey's" girl. I get a shade or two darker every summer. So I figured that Tiny Chocolates would be perfect!

I have had tons of friends comment to this on Facebook! If you have not caught this footage please take a second and give it a look. Oh Mr. Antoine Dodson. This footage is real, not fabricated! There are plenty of spoofs and music remixes on youtube.

My weekend plans involve lots of yummy food. I will have pics for you next week! If you have any suggestions on what you would like for me to talk about on my blog please feel free to leave a comment. In fact please do. I haven't had anyone leave one yet. And if you have not joined on as a reader, please do so on the left of the page. Have a great weekend!!!

My My My

I sound like Johnny Gill huh! If you don't know who Johnny Gill is please YouTube the man. He has a song called My My My. Anywho, the week is ticking along and I am still holding on! I went to a Defensive Driving course today for the J-O-B. It was rather boring. I had to drink a cup of coffee to stay awake. I've given up on coffee lately. It's bad for you- But I am sure that you knew that! I used to drink cafe more regularly. That is when I was living in the South and had cafe dates with My Mimi! Lately, every time that I talk to a family member we discuss the Heat Wave. I feel so sorry for the people who are dealing with the heat. I remember what real heat and humidity do to you. As I have previously mentioned, I am spoiled now. The north has heat but it is dry and I don't sweat like I use to. So dear family and friends, please stay hydrated and cool. My Pappy is excited because the heat has killed his grass. That means he doesn't have to mow.

I cooked in the Crock pot yesterday. And the recipe was chosen because of My Tootsie (are you catching the my's yet :-). My Tootsie is my cousin/bestie, buddy, sissie and so on. We used to eat Chinese food together when we lived in the same state. And one of her fav's is Pepper Steak. I found a few recipes for the dish and did a little "modifying". You cook the dish on low for 6-7 hours. I used tender chuck round steak but I am sure you could use flank or something else. Please season the meat. The recipe called for red, orange and green bell peppers. The orange bell peppers were to expensive for me to purchase so I used red and green. Also chop up an onion. I used a sweet onion. And chopped everything in big chunks. I also added 2 tablespoons of Soy sauce and Worchestire. For no particular reason I threw in a clove of garlic and maybe a pinch of sugar. Season some more with salt and pepper. When I returned from work the wonderful aroma had me smiling at the front door! The smell was fantastic! I served it over steamed rice. Very yummy! I might have made a little yummy sauce from the juices in the crockpot (let me know if you want the recipe for the sauce). So Tootsie- When you get a chance and you feel like cooking- Try out the recipe!

CD

I may have teased you a little yesterday. Sorry! I spent a small portion of my weekend laying on the couch watching HSN. Last week I mentioned that when I spoke with My Zesty Aunt Kathy, who is the Queen of HSN and QVC, that we spoke about some products. The products that I was referring to were made by Carol's Daughter. If I just did that correctly you can follow the link (but I'm not tech savvy so let me know). I have been a fan of CD for almost a year. I had heard of her products but had never tried them. I found out that you could purchase her products at select Sephora's and realized that I did not want to purchase them. Then one boring night, I caught her on HSN. Maybe I was bored or needed some retail therapy, but I decided to give them a go. I started small with some shampoo and conditioner and another hair product. My Aunt Kathy reminded me that it wouldn't hurt to try something out and to let her know what I thought. I loved the shampoo and conditioner but had mixed feelings on the hair product (Some of Marguerite's Magic). After a little time, I began to love that too. I became a fan on FB and that let me know when she would be on HSN and other products. Two months after my first HSN- CD adventure, I caught her on tv again. This time I was brave and ordered more products. I haven't looked back since. I like her products because all of the "stuff" that you aren't suppose to have in shampoo, soap, chap stick and such is left out!!!! Her products are natural. The "her" that I am referring to is Lisa Price. Her mom was named Carol- so she is Carol's Daughter. I LOVE IT!

Some of my favorite products by CD are the Rosemary mint shampoo and conditioner, Sweet Honey Dip Brown Sugah Scrub and Lisa's Hair Elixir. The shampoo and conditioner are great because they are a hair detox and take all the residue and stuff from your hair. The mint is great because it opens you up and allows you to breath so much better. The Sweet Honey Dip Brown Sugah scrub is FANTASTIC. The name is a mouthful but the product lives up to the hype. I used it on my feet and it made my pedicure last a good 1 1/2 months. The smell is intoxicating!!! Lisa's Hair Elixir is one of the best hair oils that I have ever used. It smells like pepper mint and is so tingly and refreshing. I use it before I blow dry my hair and then again before I flat iron my hair.

This weekend I did well and only ordered a few products. One of the nice things about shopping on HSN is that you have a 30 day grace period. I haven't found a product yet that I don't like by Carol's Daughter. Sometimes I have to get used to something but in the end every one of the products is well worth the money that I spend on it. While I was in the movies I was checking the HSN app on my iPhone to make sure that I wasn't missing any specials. I can not wait until my box arrives with my new goodies!

CD did a big launch this weekend with unveiling Mary J Blige's new perfume, My Life. I have no problem with MJB- but I can not buy a perfume that I have never smelled before. The interesting thing about this perfume is that it is exclusive to HSN and you can not buy it in any stores. So unless you are a brave soul and will buy a perfume without smelling it first or have a friend who has it, you have no clue what you are getting. I need a credible friend to let me know if they have tried out this new scent.

So on this wonderful Tuesday- please think about whose daughter you are. I know for sure whose I am.

2 Dollar Bill

Happy Monday! I am gearing up for a week full of meetings, chaos and work. I can not BELIEVE that in 3 weeks school begins! Where did the summer go? I will be on my GRIND until mid-October. With Back to School programs, regular programs and other events- I don't know if I can do it...Lack of sleep? Probably! Headaches and stress? More than likely! Successful events and smiling students? Priceless! Ha

Yesterday, I went to the movies and saw Inception. Great movie! Kind of Matrix-ish. I could watch it another time. I went with TK and VG! I had a wonderful time with the ladies and we promised to get together again. I am a big fan of Wonderful Customer Service (who isn't) and the fantastic lady at the movie theatre earned my Sticker of Approval. She was super nice and complimented me on my yellow shirt (yellow is one of my colors). She took just enough time with me to make me feel important, was thorough with everything and even gave me a 2 dollar bill for change! I have not received a 2 dollar bill since my Grammy's friend, Mrs. Franklin, gave them as Christmas presents (Bubba and Tootsie- I know y'all remember Mrs. Franklin).

After the movies I went to Wally world for some items. I had a horrible cashier who was slower than molasses. I mean seriously. I was so tempted to get behind the register myself and do the work. I would have switched lines but there were long lines everywhere. And to top it off- I do not think she was wearing a bra. And believe me when I tell you that she needed some support!

And the rest of my weekend was spent relaxing infront of the TV while watching HSN. Yes Home Shopping Network! I only shop on HSN when Carol's Daughter comes to town! And that is what I will leave you with....