Tre

Tre won the first elimination challenge on Bravo's Top Chef.

This is what you do when you spend all day out in great weather and don't have time to post

Need I say more. I know...I am venturing into dangerous waters. I am starting to get hits, so thanks to whoever you people are. It's only going to get better!
See you next week.

Summer means Track & Field

Summer heralds the much anticipated sporting events of Track & Field. Here are the reigning athletes we can look forward to watching compete.

from USA: Wallace Spearmon (running in red), James Carter(lightskinned brotha on his knees), Usain Bolt (blue uniform with round yellow circles) and Christopher Williams from Jamaica (blue medal around neck), Pole Vaulter Giovanni Lanaro, and Kerron Clement & Michael Tinsley (hurdlers) from USA.

Holiday

Hey, everybody (I know there are millions and millions of you out there). I am not really going to post this weekend because of the holiday. Hope everyone is having a great one. I went to Iowa with A. for T's graduation. I also visited the world famous Grandmothers Soul Food and Catering located in Clinton, Iowa...the food is wonderful. Stop in and say hello to Grandmother Jessie, Arica and the whole gang. So I will leave you with some original artwork by my niece Keara until I return next week. Thanks for the love...I give it back to you with abundance.

Vacations, Kicked & Cooked

The reason that I did not post last weekend was because I drove to Indianapolis to visit my family and mother for Mother's Day. I was supposed to be on vacation last week...and in a way, I suppose that I was. My mother just bought her first home, so not only did I want to see my family but I also wanted to check out the new digs. There was a computer sale at my job and I had promised my niece a while back that I would help get her one, so that was another reason for my going to Indy. In my mind I had envisioned going down there and staying for a whole week but things didn't quite work out that way. The computer could only be picked up on Saturday and I had to go back to work on Tuesday; that gave me 3 days to visit. My niece was ecstatic with the computer. And as always I had a wonderful time with my younger nieces and nephews. The couple of days went by way too fast as always and as a family that struggles together plays together, we lived up to every part of that statement and then some. Here's my disclaimer where I tell you how I am practicing the secret and how I lived by those principles last weekend, and how everything worked out, is going to work out, is already done. Live your life as if it is already done. That dream you have: picture it, see it as already achieved and you are reaping the rewards of that action. Okay, I am finished with the disclaimer. And now back to our regularly scheduled program.

ROLE MODELS

Saw this article in the May 14 '07 issue of Time magazine. Tony Parker writes about his friend, French Soccer star: Thierry Henry as one of the most influential people in the world/the Time 100...






























I first saw this next impressive guy on an episode of Judge Hackett. A former drug dealer, Cooked author Jeff Henderson gives an incredible and inspiring autobiographical account of his former life and how he became one of the most successful chefs in the world...

Before and After

Turn your books into works of art to fill your bookshelves. If you have visited and browsed through home decor shops such as Crate & Barrel, The Container Store or Ikea, I'm sure you have seen the in-store room displays and the way that books are sometimes displayed by using plain non-colored or decoratively printed colored papers as covers for books. I decided to try my hand at this often overlooked decorating technique.

I purchased 3 different rolls of wrapping paper.

Here is one book before.


And here's the same book after.

This is really simple and easy to do. In a future post, I will show you how I made the cover and I will show you the finished product as displayed on the bookshelves in my studio.

Now, if I can just find the time to enshrine the rest of my books that I want to display on my bookshelves. To be continued...

My Library

I did too much this weekend, resulting in missing my Sunday deadline for posting. I thought I would let you all know a little bit more about me by letting you know what books I have checked out from the library shelves. I must warn you that my tastes and interests are numerous and vary.

DVDs and music CDs:
I have a copy of the Will Ferrell movie: Stranger than Fiction...It will not copy for me so I am recording to video... Adam Sandler's Click... The Smashing Machine The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr (?)... The Tick entire series (?)... Dawn Anna starring Debra Winger... Luvanmuiq by Music Soulchild... Miss E So Addictive by Missy Elliott... Elliott Yamin... Street Love by Lloyd... Putumayo Presents Global Soul... Undiscovered by James Morrison... Miami Vice movie soundtrack.

Books:
Internet Yellow Pages 2007 Edition...Geeks On Call Wireless Networking 5-Minute Fixes... Get Your Brain in the Fast Lane (this is for improving your brain and memory)... The One-Hour Garden (because that is all the time I want to spend in my yard)... Basements Attics & Garages... Sellevision by the great (in my opinion) Augusten Burroughs... Vault Guide to Starting Your Own Business... Multiple Streams of Internet Income... Easy Microsoft Office Excel 2003... More Fantasy Art Masters... Drawing and Painting Fantasy Figures...
Cookbooks:
Small Bites Big Nights... Dough Magic...

More books still...can you believe it:
Just Hats (crocheting)... Contemporary Thai (home design)... A Japanese Touch For Your Home... China Style... Popular Mechanics Complete Home How-To... Step-by-Step Outdoor Stonework... Complete Patio... The Domain Book (design)... 101 Ways To Use Your First Sewing Machine... Queen of the Scene (a childrens book by Queen Latifah)... Tavis Smiley's What I Know For Sure... They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky (the true story of three Lost Boys from Sudan).

Magazines: Muscle & Fitness Feb 2007 issue... PC Magazine April 24 2007 issue... Maximum PC Mar 2007 issue... Adoptive Families Jan/Feb 2007 issue... Vibe (March & April 2007 issues)... Details Dec. 2006 issue... Workbench April 2006 issue.

I think these are the most items that I have ever had checked out all at once. Some of these books I will just scan through, some, like the book about the lost boys of Sudan, I will read from start to finish. I have my design books to get inspired ideas and the magazine to keep me up to date on what's current in the world of computers, hip hop and fitness. The cds will be copied to my itunes library and the rest of my checked out items, I hope to get back soon before I accrue late fees.
Please visit your local library and check out these titles and others.