Mackgurl's Musings

You know, some people are just born lucky. No wait- hear me out! There are those people who could eat their weight in pizza and burgers and never gain an ounce...or worse, lose a pound or two. There are those people who can read a book once- cover to cover, mind you - and be able to site it word for word, down to the page the section came from. (Wouldn't that be a nifty skill to have around exam time?) There are those people who always seem to have the best EVERYTHING - families, jobs, homes, cars, wardrobes, dogs, friends, parking spaces! The list is endless. And there are those who for whatever reason, they never seem to encounter a time when things truly go wrong. Am I one of these people? Do any of the above fit the description of my life? With the exception of having the best family - cause let's face I do - nope. And is that okay? No, it's GREAT! If life was perfect, with no ups and downs, goodness how boring would that be? What stories would I have to tell

A middle aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table, she had a near death experience. Seeing God, she asked, " Is my time up?" God said, "No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live.'" Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, brow lift, lip enhancement, boob job, lipo-suction, and a tummy tuck. After her last operation, she was released from the hospital but while crossing the street on her way home, she was hit and killed by a car. Arriving in front of God, she demanded, '"I thought you said I had another 43 years? Why didn't you pull me out of the path of the car?" God replied,   "GIRRRL...I didn't even recognize you!" 

It's going to happen to all of us at some point if we live long enough. No, I'm not talking about winning the lottery. I'm talking about aging - you know, getting old! It's unavoidable, no matter what the infomercials and plastic surgeons would have you to believe. As a matter of fact it's happening to all of us RIGHT NOW. Don't panic, you may not be at the OLD and DECREPIT stage just yet. But here are few signs that you are heading in that direction: TEN SIGNS YOU ARE GETTING OLD When the bagger at the supermarket asks "Would you like help out with your groceries" you get offended and flatly refuse. Really, what he's trying to say is "You look old and frail and carrying those 2 bags of groceries just might do you in." You and your family are watching television and the "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercial comes on. While the kids are laughing, you secretly write down the number so YOU can order one! When t

Stressful doesn't have to describe the airport security screening process. Here are a few tips to hopefully help you prepare for your next flight - be it business or pleasure: www.do2learn.com/.../ imagegridswords/summer.htm Wear shoes that can be easily slipped off at check-in . You are going to have to remove your shoes at screening. It would take much less time and save you a lot of hassle if you are wearing flip-flops or sandals versus a pair of lace up high tops. Try to avoid wearing metal as much as possible. You are going to have to pass through a metal detector at airport screening. With the current state of the world, these metal detectors are probably a bit more sensitive than in years past. So before you leave the house/hotel, you may want to reconsider that under-wire bra that makes you look so, ahem - uplifted. And you might want to remove that body piercing that you have in your navel, eyebrow, lip, tongue and any other unmentionable places...that is unless you

When life throws up road blocks along your route, don't get discouraged. Just turn to the GPS (God's Powerful Spirit) to find a new route.

 So, this morning I was sitting out on the terrace overlooking the ocean sipping my jasmine green tea whena few news stories caught my attention. Maybe that's putting to dull a point on it. These stories made me say, aloud mind you, ARE YOU SERIOUS??? Here's a headline from msnbc.com  that nearly made me spit out my perfectly brewed jasmine green tea  "NYT: Clan could hold key to drug to stop Alzheimer's" ARE YOU SERIOUS??? My first thoughts - The clan knows how to stop Alzheimer's but they aren't sharing?What? Is the government going to step in and demand that they turn over what they know about halting one of, if not the most, frightening diseases on record? How did they get this drug? How long have they had it? Does it work?? At this point, I am almost afraid of what I will read but I'm too curious not to click the link for the story. So, I click the link and discover that it is in fact about a clan - just not "the" clan. The sto

At work yesterday, I somehow got into a conversation with a coworker about an ice cube.   Source:   http://flickr.com/photos/48600107944@N01/230644097 No, not THAT Ice Cube! THIS ice cube...wait, not quite that large. But the ice cube floating around in your favorite beverage right about now. Source:  Google Maps   -  Google Earth Anyway, I don't really remember the whole conversation - ok maybe I do - but that's not really the point. The point is by the end of the chat, she informed me that chewing ice gives you anemia. I was completely shocked! ICE? Giving you anemia? So I asked her, "Where did you hear this? Some urban legend or OLD WIVES TALE?"  "No, " she replied "from my doctor." Ok, now I was really concerned~ about a couple things: 1. What sort of doctor was this that he would state that chewing ice causes anemia? My first thought~ a dentist but she assured me that it was her GP and not her dentist. Before we go any further, let&

I admit that I'm a a bit of a gadget girl but man oh man do I ever want a Nook! Okay - wait, it's not what you think. Sheesh. A Nook is a this nifty little invention for avid readers like moi! I suppose the when-ever-I-get-a-spare-moment reader could benefit from it, too. This is a nook http://images.barnesandnoble.com/pimages/bravo/whiteout/21970_nookforgrads_f1.jpg Is it not gorgeous? This little guy will allow me to read books electronically! No more trying to find storage space for all my books - and believe me, there are quite a few. No more papercuts - ok so that may be a slight exaggeration - but it could happen. Really, people, this little gizmo can do for my books would my iPod did for my CD's. We're talking endless shelf space here folks. The Nook is Barnes and Noble's version of the eReader. I believe Sony has one as does Amazon. But it's the Nook for me. Why:  it's wireless can lend ebooks to other Nook readers for 14 days has wi-fi acces

Okay,  so I may have a few conspiracy theories running around in my head - but before you cry "NUT ALERT" just  hear me out. The government, or more specifically, the USDA, has had a list or pyramid, if you will, of foods that we should eat. Well at least the types of foods that the average person should consume as well as the quantities of such foods. Over the years, the pyramid has been tweaked here and there. Here's a link for the new revamped pyramid  http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/index.html . This is a great link. It's interactive (gotta love that) and it breaks it down for you by food group. AND, there's also a link specific to children! So clearly, the government has made sure that the information is out there so that we know what to eat. Or at least know what we are SUPPOSED to eat. But are we eating it? Really? All the time? No? Why not? Come on, we're all friends here, right? Because it's expensive to eat "right". Let's exami

So in my sister and I have decided to "get in shape" in time for an upcoming family reunion. Now, I'm not trying to whittle my way down to a size 0, just shed a few more inches/pounds...whatever. My goal is 20 pounds - and NO, I'm not telling you how much I weigh currently. Let's just leave it at I weigh more than I would like to presently. We started this family reunion countdown on Monday and have until June 30 to reach the goal. Boy, do I miss my gym membership right about now (but I don't miss the monthly dues!) Anyway, so I've started working out the cheap - ahem, low cost way...WALKING - power walking to be exact. For 45 mins, I walk as fast and as hard as I can in effort to get my heart rate up and work up a sweat. The plan is to do this AT LEAST 3x/week EVERY week but  I'm shooting for 5x/week. Hey, a girl's gotta have a goal, right? www.webster-dictionary.org/. ../power%20walking Additionally, I'm trying to eat a little health

Mich. police: Drunken driver called 911 on herself :: WRAL.com

Police: Drunk Pa. man tried to revive dead opossum :: WRAL.com

 Which one of these two people is African? Photo copyright Chris Kirchoff.    Photo by Colin Mead. Copyright SA Tourism Go ahead, give it some thought...I'll wait (cue game show music....) Ok. All done? Great. So by a show of hands how many of you chose photo number 2?  Raise them high so I can get a good count (1, 2, 3, ...500,.....) Okay,  so quite a few of you. Now, just for fun, how many of you chose photo number 1? Anyone? Ok, there's one hand raised -ooh I think I see another hand - yep waaayy in the back. Well, the correct answer is - (cue drum roll please) Photo Number 1...AND Photo Number 2! That's right - both of these handsome young people are African. Surprise anyone? I'm sure it did. So why bring this up? Before I get to that take a look at these photos:     http://african-american-hairstyles.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/african-american-hairstyles2.jpg    photo located at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin Which of these two women are A

This list doesn't really need much lead in. Suffice it say, it's a list of irritants that are particularly peevish to me. If any of these resonate with you,. let me know. If you have some of your own that you'd like to add, feel free. I will probably add to this list as the peeves present themselves. So here are a few of pesky peevers - in no no particular order: 1. Smokers - smoking is a nasty and  utterly unhealthy habit. In the 50's and even earlier, smoking was seen as the cool, sexy thing to do. Back then, smokers lit up in restaurants and movie theaters and pretty much anywhere else they wanted. The perils of the puffing away on the myriad brands of coffin nails and various cancer sticks wasn't advertised or even widely known. Until recently, smokers could still light up in restaurants - as long as they were in the SMOKING SECTION! Really? So the gray tendrils of death wafting from YOUR cigarette or cigar knew to stop at the invisible line, that usually

I thought I'd shake things up a bit. I've put away my fro - temporarily -  and am now sporting some two-strand twists. After all, it IS Friday, right? I've had twists before - of varying types and lengths. One set was done with the aid of some added hair for length. I had these done at an African World of Braids shop downtown by the lovely Fatima. the whole process took about 3.5 - 4 hours. They didn't last that long and they were quite expensive. Now, it wasn't the fault of  Ms. Fatima that they didn't last long...something about the added hair irritated my skin so I took them down. I had another set done this past December at a lovely shop in Raleigh, Sophia Sunflower Salon . Love love love this place. The entire process didn't take nearly as long, granted I didn't have any hair added this time. I would probably have gone back to Sophia's place to have my latest set of twists done except I was anxious for new style and wasn't sure when she w

Like a disco maven from the early 70's...A bold, brash Foxy Brown - no not THAT Foxxy Brown. I'm talking about Foxy Brown ala Pam Grier (shut your mouth) ... (photo from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071517/) And who could possibly forget the unforgettable Angela Davis (photo newlynatural.com/.../ 2009/02/davisa_a.jpg) I strutted to work late last week with an Afro! Ok, so I've worn a similar look before but nothing like this.  I didn't try to make it look like a had a certain "type" of hair ( I refused to say THAT word in this context because all hair is good. Feel me?). I just decided to go for it. I picked it out and went to work. A few older co-workers saluted me with the fist bump (ok, corny but they were trying to be funny, lol) and a few just out right said "hey, I'm feelin' that!". Alas, it was the silent looks of disapproval that spoke the loudest. Was I surprised? Not even close. These same silent screamers were the same one

Earlier this week...Tuesday, I think...the local weather guys and gals began to clamor about the WHITE STUFF. That's all well and good except they were saying that the snow wasn't due to arrive until the weekend. They said we should all get prepared...three days in advance? It's just not done in this area. Now, had this been a different time of the year and they were spouting the virtues of hurricane preparedness - well, then we would have sat up and took notice. But I digress...Anyway, not very many people took them seriously. Not just because it was so early but because the last time they called for snow it didn't even rain...not even a little...heck it wasn't even really cold. So what did most of us do with this latest prediction??? Ignore it. So by Thursday, the weather folks were still calling for snow. So I checked the national weather forecast and they were calling for at least 6 inches with potential for 10. Okay, so now a few of us at work decided that it