Niecy

Note: I am not going in the business of writing recaps. This episode requires some processing for me, so I'm writing to do just that.



If you haven't been watching the masterpiece that is Queen Sugar by Ava Duverney on OWN, you should start now. Whatever you are doing, leave work, take a break, sit down and watch.

Last week's episode opened with Charley laying in the chair and ottoman, motionless, emotionless, just laying there after learning the truth about her husband. I can't even describe the emotions I felt during this scene because I knew it. I've been there before. I was texting one of my girlfriends and she said "so this is what it looks like". That one image, with Charley laying there, barely moving, barely breathing, is familiar.  What Ava captured in art fully imitated life.

Then there was Ralph Angel. Gosh if I don't know that man. The man with so much bottled up inside. The man that finds his worth in his work yet nothing is really working…

I really don't need to say anymore.  
I've been saying people with a platform need to take a stand. I didn't want any Black athletes to travel to Rio for the olympics to represent the USA. I realize that is a big thing to ask. That is the dichotomy of being Black in America.  Black athletes representing a country and winning gold medals in the name of a country who doesn't fully see us. 
So Kaepernick gets all my love for taking a stand by taking his seat.  Personal protests have always been the catalyst for greater awareness and action. 
Let me tell you a quick story. This summer at our Scentsy convention, Orville gave a moving and authentic speech that touched on the current times. I could see how he genuinely felt about what he was saying. There was a moment where this quote by a Scentsy consultant's husband was placed on the screen. I realized when he said "he's Black", everyone remained seated, but when he said "and he's a cop" eve…

My ex-husband welcomed another child to the world last weekend. My son is now a big brother. It's something I've known was coming since Christmas. It's something people don't talk about. 
I don't know why. I don't want to live a life unaffected. Journeying through as if major life events don't take my breath away, knock me to my knees, whimpering in bed at night. Life affects me.
I remember when David told me he was having another baby. It felt like a life sentence.  I remember abandoning prayers that although separated, our family unit would remain intact. I remember staying silent because it wasn't my story to tell. I remember wearing the narrative like a heavy coat.  
I cried. I was mad. Sad. Confused. Angry.  Affected. Why don't people talk about this? 
Then one day I woke up at peace. I'm never afraid to do my work. To find the place where love abides.  I recognize that we are always, in all ways, healing. Yet this was something I didn't wan…

Summer summer summertime! I realized coming to write this post that I hadn't written about our trip to Vegas at the beginning of the summer, so that will be to come.
What do you get when 13 people meet in Orlando to take the kiddos to Disney and Universal? Fun. 
At Christmas, my sister-in-love and I talked about spending Christmas 2016 at Disneyworld. Then, shortly after it was announced that my nephew's AAU tournament would be hosted in Orlando this summer. So we set our sights to all go down.

We rented a house from Home Away. It was located in a resort community. Well the initial house we rented had a bug infestation, but they made it right before we made it to town and moved us to another house, but once we got into town that house had no ac so they moved is to another. Two days in we discovered the hot water went out so they again moved us to another house but allowed us to keep the house we had, so I'm not sure I would recommend this particular company although they did …

By now you have probably heard that a student athlete from Stanford University was convicted on three counts of sexual assault for raping a  young woman, who was unconscious, behind a dumpster. The judge sentenced him to 6 months in jail stating "a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. I think he will not be a danger to others.” The news of this story spread quickly and outrage has been heard loud and clear, including a petition for the judge to be recalled.

We should remain outraged at what happened at Stanford but we must also recognize that this story made national news and is being shared because we are more outraged about things that happen in elite spaces. These atrocities are   happening on a daily basis in our communities. Victims who know their perpetrators are not believed because surely they did something to make them believe they had given consent. Most cases of sexual assault are void of DNA evidence and aren't even forwarded for prosec…

Many of you know my grandma is the cook of all cooks.  It's often so very hard to please her at some of the finest restaurants because she knows she could make it better.  In an attempt to have her spend a few more days in Albuquerque with us, my sister and I offered to cook for Sunday dinner.
My sister laid out a pretty extensive menu: roast and beans, grilled hot links, corn on the cob, cornbread, cake, fresh fruit and more.  I decided to make mac n cheese and lemon garlic butter roasted chicken.  I'm so happy to be able to say dinner was great and Granny approved.

The story behind the Mac-n-Cheese
When I first got married, I once had a really yummy mac-n-cheese recipe that I found online. It was so good.  Over 5 years later, I couldn't remember where I got that recipe so I started searching for a new one.  I first found Monique over at A Diva Can Cook's recipe.  Monique is amazing and I reference her blog alot.  I wasn't completely happy the first time around …