Andy Williams and Me

Now, if anyone had even suggested that, come December, your delightfully afrocentric DivaCardista would have a thing for Andy Williams Christmas music, I'd've said you were absolutely mad. But, I tell you, something about that man singing about Santa "coming down the chimney, down..." that makes my heart do a wee flip! (Not to mention my mind...)

OK. Since last we spoke, Obama got elected, Palin paled in comparison to Biden, Hil [& Bill] were invited back to the dance and snow has fallen on my fair city. Lots to mull & ponder...

Currently looking for jobby-job to keep the wolf from the door. Last I looked he was about three blocks down...

Just took a test to become a MC--Mistress of the Census. If you are looking for a[nother] revenue stream, contact the Census folk. They need a bunch of people...

Gotta get my stuff from the laundry. Gotta write copy for blessedstar card sale ending 12/17. If you want more detail, send me your USPS and I'll send you the data (if I don't Constant Comment you first...)

Stay well. Stay warm. Stay in touch!!

Happy Holidays!

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

47 Fritos

OK, here's the thing that became abundantly clear last weekend while sharing a fabulous spa day with a dear girlfriend...

If I see Fritos, I eat Fritos. By the fistful. I don't see them? I don't eat them.

And the thing is, I've been seeing quite a few "Fritos" lately...

I've really got to fight this thing, especially since my last note to self whilst in my endocrinologists office was, upon next visit, the goal is to be less fat.

Happily my face has de-swollen, but my thoracic section makes my otherwise fantastic frame look like those prize fighters from the 1900's. You know: more Jack Johnson than Beverly Johnson...

But, diligently working my gym membership, I remain hopeful and hard working.

Fell asleep and missed Biden/Palin. Will catch it on YouTube.

YouTube is a real boon for folks like me who don't watch TV on the regular [any more]. I actually [finally] got to see the infamous Palin/Couric interview via YT. And, while watching, it occurred to me that S Palin is neither dumb nor dim. She is just a bit arrogant and, more importantly, woefully inadequate for the [potential!] job at hand. It would be like you or me being asked to co-pilot a jet plane all of a sudden.

And I want to know where are all of the other smart, skilled & available GOP women she beat out for the job? What do they have to contribute to this conversation?

A Diva wonders...

I also wonder if I shd just get out my Y2K Savarin can and put my money in that for safe keeping. I'm watching Bloomberg/MSNBC/The Situation Room/etc. at the gym and I have never seen so many flummoxed pundits in my life. Further, have you ever seen so much of melting and smelting of family heirlooms in your life?

And Bank of America is actually running a campaign that may as well be saying

y'all better come on in here and get this money while it's still here... don't you mess around with no nine month CD... shoot... this may be a jiffy lube, starbucks or a dollar store by then...

Keep the faith.

Happy October!

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

ps: put down those Fritos & ROCK THE VOTE!

Sectional Healing

it is well after one in the morning and i [have the nerve to have] just got[ten] back from the store. the combination of shingles, insomnia and a searching spirit can be a heady cocktail.

have you ever had shingles? it is a trip and a half. thank goodness it is well on its way out. i'm looking forward to not being subject to fits of powerful exfoliation followed immediately by the need for some format of blue star ointment and a good nap. sheesh! (yes, this is yet another gift from your friend and mine, Mr. Steroid.)

welcome to fall! i am excited for this change of season. i hope you are too. in spite of the nausea-inducing market news and money being too tight to mention, i still hope you and yours can find new strategies for living and loving in this new yet challenging season.

and in the midst of this time of fiscal snugness, i still want the three c's: a new computer, this fantastic coat i just discovered at a local discounter and a leather couch that converts into the world's most comfortable sofa bed.

i'm really feeling the designs at ikea. second? jennifer convertible followed closely by la-z-boy. if you have any recommendations--aside from the traditional wisdom of "never buy[ing] an ugly couch, even if it is on sale"--i'm more than willing to listen.

in closing,

go see title of show: it is an interesting and entertaining Broadway show that deserves a longer run...

keep me in your prayers: your DivaCardista is doing all she can to look and feel more like Halle than Fred Berry, but, as stated earlier, these are challenging days for us all...

rock the vote: yeah, i'm sick of the whole dragged out affair as well, but let's not grow weary in well doing. vote.

and stay well.

New Blessings for a New Season,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

It Took all the Strength I Had...

So early last evening, I was all dressed and powdered, ready with my blanket & large piece of plastic to go under the blanket and the goal of having my favorite deli sandwich of low salt turket on wheat with the merest hint of mustard with a diet snapple green tea, when I realize I don't quite know where I'm going. After all, Central Park is no wee small place. So, something said you'd better check online before you launch off to see Mz. Jill Scott in concert at the SummerStage, for which your DivaCardista paid nigh unto 90 clams...only to discover that neither she nor Mr. Wyclef Jean would be there as the whole shebang was cancelled.

So...there I was, all dressed up and no place to go. But since your DivaCardista is just about always up for an adventure, she decided to launch off to the city anyway. Who knows what she would find? There is always the possibility of something great to explore in Gotham. And having ruled out the cinema and the world of dance, in addition to not wanting to drop another knot on the Chaka concert at the Nokia...after the Jill upset, the bloom had pretty much fallen off the rose as far as concert going was concerned...I turned again to my faithful friend, The Theatre!

And, I am happy to report, it did not disappoint.

The show I went to see was [title of show] and was I glad. Sure, it has a fair amount of language, however, there is so much hope and wit and craft and genuine affection for Broadway, how could you not appreciate this uptown/downtown musical? This evening was all the more exciting and enjoyable for me as, of course, your DivaCardista has a good friend in the cast, the divine and iridescent Ms. Susan Blackwell. But every member of the quintet (if you include Larry at the Piano) was great.

So I came home, feeling all uplifted and encouraged about my own work and inspired about the latest theatrical piece I'm working on, when, in as many weeks, the second lead in my wee church play says they need to drop out.

Me: OK, God: what now? when will the bloodletting end?

God: I'll handle it.

Me: Are you sure there's nothing more I can do?

God: If you cdve, you wdve by now, doncha think?

Me: They're gonna tear me a new one at our next meeting, you
know...

God: Not hip to your process, huh?

Me: Neither do they regard it too highly, I don't think...

God: Well, you have to trust me on this: everything will work out...

a fitful night of sleep passes. the sun burns bright into the room.
it is suddenly 9am.

Me: ...and I say what exactly to the rest of the cast?

God: Tell them...tell them what I told you. And stop acting
like such a misfit. You do have authority in this area. You know how I know?
Because I gave it to you.

So yes, it took all the strength I had not to fall apart the first time and I have to go to a similar place to deal with this [potential] second jejune blow.

All this for a 27 page play to be done in the woods. Sheesh.

I have to stop thinking that what is easy to me--writing/staging/producing/performing a play--is easy to every one else, and vice versa. An example of vice versa? Passing the road test. Look at how many cars there are on the road--all folk who, unlike moi, figured out how to pass the road test.

Life, eh?

No, I still can't believe that Bernie and Issac are gone. Hot buttered soul and hot comedy as satisfying as butter on a hot biscuit...gone. We miss them terribly. Glad they were here. Our lives are richer for it.

Well, let me get to this resume I'm working on.

I wish you joy this fine August day.

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com
need to update or create
your resume?
give me a shout:
joy@blessedstarcards.com

Smoked Pleasant Sausage

It is Sunday evening and, while I am so full I can hardly breathe after my FabSuperSoupSupperToThe Extreme, I still want a cookie. Somebody help me.

Perhaps it's because I've become a maraca from all my doctors "filling me up with alla these pills" that seem to have stoked all kinds of latent food cravings that I've managed to keep at bay since the eighties. Perhaps I am simply insatiable, but I have found great joy in my salt/sugar free universe of late: lots & lots of fresh broccoli, corn, red cabbage, black beans, lentils, split peas, polenta, blueberries, oranges, homemade applesauce, lasagne with spinach, cinnamon/all spice oatmeal, chicken/turkey, whole grain pizza with mozzarella [kosher for passover], egg noodles and longhorn cheese, whipped fat free cream cheese on a whole wheat bagel...um...what can i say? Your DivaCardista likes her cheese, especially at the nexus/axis where it meets some kind of pasta or whole grain bread. And if you boost that with the lycopene of a well-tended tomato, I'll be happy as a clam-named-Sam.

Good news is I've redoubled my effort and committment to going to the gym. Five times last week. (I am so determined to come off this insulin...not to mention these @*$^! steroids...) I just have to restrict this whole gotta-have-a-sugar-free-something-in-my-mouth thing to the weekend. Or at least special occasions, like maybe tomorrow when my girl, The Bronx Bohemian, and I plan to see the waterfalls.

Ah me: I've got a musical play on deck for the singles ministry retreat in September, two books to complete and a website to update. Aside from the every so often feeling that I've been hit in the face/chest with a bag of full nickles and really fat, sausage-like feet, life is very full and very good. The writing has proved to be life saving and has indeed been helping me to reclaim my righteous [writers] mind. Who knew how scrambly, dusty and dormant that part of my brain had been (or for how long?) Thank God for new beginnings.

Oh yes: please go see "Meet Dave". It really is an entertaining family film. (How many times can you actually say that?) And if you like Eddie Murphy even a little bit, you will be glad that you went, unlike, say, my personal experiences with the overlong "Get Smart" and the somewhat creaky "Indiana Jones". Yes, I was surprised at how well the film held together and held my attention. And I really enjoyed it, to boot.

Donnie McLurkin preached his heart out today. And am I glad. Did my soul good. I hope your pastor/preacher blessed your soul real good as well.

Here's hoping you've had a grand and lovely weekend and shall have a happy & healthy week to come.

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

Fat Like a Tick

SO much is new, I hardly know where to begin...

i have been steadily working on a brand new play for the singles ministry retreat this fall and the process is absolutely life giving. our theme is centered on purpose and living like there is an intrinsic reason why each person has been sent here. Catalytic stuff. I'll let you know how it all shakes out.

What else? 4.25 gas...old hat...oh yeah: the hospital.

"evrytime i move, i lose/ when i look i'm in..."

Just got out as my sugar spiked 600--yes, you read that right--and it took a solid week to get it down from the stratosphere. Boy, am I sick of the hospital. But, even more, we are so over steroids!!! So, rather than falling on my sword and submitting to whatever the docs say on the Mount of Sinai, for the first time, I am taking on the role of empowered patient and liverdoc and I are going to actually dialogue about the strategy to get me off of these whack pills that have done everything from distort my body to making me prone and consequently subject to the skin popping world of diabetes, which I have never had before. Pray my strenght in the Lord, saints.

Had this 70yr PuertoRiquena as a roomate for just about the whole time I was [across the street] in The Jug. She was a pip. On the last day she was there, a day before I got sprung, a lovely male friend of mine came to see me. Even though I looked not unlike the crazy cat lady from the Simpsons, in my hospital drag, we had a nice visit. Nothing like a good friend when you are feeling low. Anyhoo, skip ahead to the day roomie is about to be taken home by her family. In walks this Eastern Bloc Phychiatrist who seemed to want nothing more to tighten me up for the weekend with some something direct from the apothecary to help me take the edge off, as twere.

"Are you depressed?"
No.
"Do you sleep through the night?"
No...
"Are you hopeless?"
Nope.
"Have you considered suici...?
NO!
"Why do you cry?"
Um...
[because we are at war? And because steroids gave me fat ankles, a depressed pituitary, a fat yellow face, high blood pressure, diabetes and medical bills that are threaten my FICO score hourly? Shoot, why do you cry?]
"They say you are depressed. Let me give you something to..."
I'd rather have your business card, just in case I might want to talk later.

And as soon as I made it known I was not about start shooting up and getting high with/because of/due or in response to him, he was gone like a flash. Like a vapor.

My roomate's response? "Honey, all you need is a papi chulo & you'll be just fine. You don't need another drug."

Scared of her.

Also, re: fat like a tick:

All the time, people hate on hospital food. And as many perfectly lovely places that I have had the best of the best cuts of meat, swirls of potatoes and infusions of all kinds of leeks, acai, basil, mint and sweet vidalia...your DivaCardista can get her grub on in a hospital. All week long, especially since I knew each meal cost a car note, I ate everything I could. And was not shy about asking for more. Now, of course, as a "newly diagnosed diabetic" [Sideshow Bob shudder here] there were/are limits, even beyond sugar and carbs. Yet, I managed to emerge from each meal...fat like a tick.

Now, during this life saving/life changing week, I learned a lot as well. For example, even though grape juice is a great source of antioxidants for some, the sugar it contains is far more than your Diva can metabolize. Who knew? (I was chugging it by the gallon. Literally.)

Another good thing to come out of this week was that zeal and insomnia drove me to read and write voraciously. Was all up in every magazine from O to The Atlantic to Black Enterprise to Time. And got a huge jump on my aforementioned play. I was determined not to let a week of skin popping, saline and nubby sock wearing encourage my brain turn to mush.

Speaking of mush...

Before nine this morning, we are happy to report, I was at the gym for the first time in about two weeks! You'd be surprised what a mere week in the hospital dealing with "sugar" can do to a body. SO I did my gentle "circuit", abductors, adductors--abs the hardest of the two--rescued my dry cleaning and came on home. Groovy, yes? So proud of me...

The heat is beginning to rise precipitously now, so I'm gonna close.

But I surely hope your day is a good one. If so, give a shout.

CoolNew Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

Obama

I was actually asleep when I heard the news last night, which is rare, because as you know, this special medical substance they have your DivaCardista on can have you up all night, just parolling about, seeing where the wiles of insomnia can take you...

but last night i was totally asleep when i heard obama was the man with the delegates to do the thing we all need: bring the hope dignity and direction of this great nation not only back, but forward and with holy boldness.

then i got up and began to clean my kitchen.

as i began to get into the nooks and crannys of my sadly neglected freezer, i began to think of the team that brought us the notion and the phrase "run, jesse, run". i wondered what hey were pondering in thier hearts as this moment scrolls out before us. then i thought about my 90 some odd year old Godmother and how she and her crew--which, of course, included my ma--would say that if nobody got arrested during her days of social protest, they weren't on their job "keep[ing] the pressure on", in the words of another freedom fighter aka "Madiba" (from across the way...)

and i thought about my mother and all of the local politicking we used to do...i think of this a lot, especially since her going into the nursing home, where she sleeps a lot these days, as she is well into her 8th decade and no longer the voluble sis that i came to know. still opinionated and imperial when "on", but, you know, less and less so.

i thought about fanny lew hamer and unbought and unbossed shirley chisholm...and even now i think about how long it can take for a change to come...and how much it takes to be a change agent...even in/especially in our own lives...and, like the life stories of the Big Women in my life tell me, at the core, that not fighting is not an option...ultimately...and how if i don't, at some point, fight for you and you don't step it up and fight for me, we are not going to make it. period. forget that rugged individualism fantasy: we need we, and whatever we need to do to keep we together, we better recognize that right now, with all the humility and courage and grace and wit and stamina we can muster.

again, holy boldness is a plus.

what a journey this has been.

and it's only june.

throughout this democratic slugfest i also often wondered just how tired they must both/all be: the husbands and the wives and the kids and the extended family, fictive kin, etc...but especially she and he.

i hope they can get the rest and replenishment they need to do the next leg of battle.

i hope the same for all of us.

(here's the link that got me here in the first place:
Welcome to MSN.com )

I truly wish us all the very best this day.

As for moi, i am going to dr. endo to get the next strategy for my next level of healing.

Let's all continue to be encouraged, shall we?

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

happy june!

it felt so good to go church without having to tote my coat, i didn't know what to do.

it is june and warm is the new norm. huzzah!

no, i haven't heard from the mri people yet. yr DivaCardista has to summon the courage to get in a call to the doc herself today...one of many Courageous Conversations that have to happen this week...

saw Passing Strange yesterday. thought i was going to see mr fishburn or anika noni rose & the crew, but they weren't on the tdf on broadway menu, so, since, as you know, i am always trying to stay up with the lastest theatrical hotness as it doth occur, there i was, in the beautiful old theatre that The Belasco is--the three [!] ladies bathroom stalls notwithstanding--where first i saw Your Arms Too Short to Box with God and Ain't Misbehavin'.

And now, three for three, the next truly hot thing: Passing Strange.

Oddly enough, this is the show I thought I was going to see when I--oy...--found myself at Spring Awakening.

Passing Strange is a gift you owe yourself if you want to see what a 21st century mind can do with the challenge of telling a personal story wonderfully well from the deep well of one's belly and a life lived in pursuit of personal truth. It is told with nuance, wit, passion, flair and great care. Not to mention music that will have you (and whomever you are near) rocking out much hard.

And an all AfAm cast to boot. And can they do their thing!!!!!

Yeah, there's "language" and "situations" and whatnot that occur in the telling of the story...but the story is powerful, poignant and seemless. No whole bunch of gratuitous this that and the other again you need to brace your soul and brain against just to get through the evening. The craft is so high and the writing is tight. Just a potent story that breathes and is exceedingly well told, is all.

And the light show is to die for.

This Tony season is going to be off the chain.

Happy June!

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

She Said What Now?

Now, we know Hillary wants to...you know...win and all, but my goodness! With what comes out of her mouth during the wee small hours of this campaign...it makes a body wonder...

Op-Ed Columnist - All About Eve - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com

Let's all try to get through the weekend without any more super-oops, macabre, borderline racist/death reflux from this candidate, shall we?

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

Miracles

Been poked and stoked, plucked and stuck, mashed and humbled since last we spoke and yet I am so amazed by each new day and the miracles that I see each moment I live.

And how have you been?

Taxes are done, bills are getting paid and hope is springing up. Thank you Jesus for unmerited favor.

Looking forward to new health strategy that involves less of a stoner lifestyle and funny looks from the "extraordinary miracle" folk at my local CVS pharmacy. And complete divine head2toe healing.

In delightful process of re-imagining the already sweet blessedstarcards.com so that you get more of the joylovefaith&flavor of your DivaCardista and the growing vision of this happy company-o-mine.

Finna break out to Cali to celebrate my genius Godbro and his being awarded a well earned EdD while bouncing my pals twins upon my knee as I will assuredly be astounded by the new miracles that they have become since meeting them in January...

Poetry is springing up in your DivaCardista. In lovely ways. In empowering ways. And I will be sharing more of this with you very soon.

These are bloody tough times. These are beautiful days, bursting with possibiliy. These are times of swift, often frightful, transition.

And yet...

I hope and pray you are finding your miracles today. Miracles that drive your toward the Divine within you, so that you, too, may access fresh new vision and hope. Come what may.

Stay encouraged.

Fresh New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com
Mother's Day is 5/11
Make it special with a
blessedstar card or gift!

Bookcases in The Hood, Baby!!

Ms. G's Classroom now has the proper bookcases and I want to THANK each and every one of you for opening your hearts and pockets to help me make this dream come true for my very first alma mater!

You are the best!!!!!!!

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

Living Saved & Single on the East Coast!

Hey Good People,

I would be remiss if I didn't let you know that this coming autumn the best singles ministry ever is hosting our SECOND ANNUAL Greater Allen Cathedral of New York SINGLES RETREAT this September 5, 6 and 7th!

So...

If you too are seeking the Lord and want to have a wonderful time in His presence as a saved and single man or woman on the East Coast, please let me know, because your DivaCardista will do all she can to get you all the data!

Last year we just had such fantastic fellowship and spiritual refreshment, that I just wanted to let as many new folk know as possible.

Get ready!!!!

Fresh New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com
allencathedral.org

put your records on / put your junk out

hey good people,

sitting here working with all due diligence trying to keep my head above water and a good attitude about this here sunny late winter day.

i am so happy that spring begins next week, i am just about to burst.

or it could be the medication...

but i'll tell you, this mind altering moment i'm passing through is really something else. i have been doing all i can to make it work for my benefit and, bless God, it really has.

yes, your Divine DivaCardista is a bit more Jack Johnson than normal, but we are over here with the expert aid of Sis Corinne Bailiey Rae trying to keep it all in flow and green and lovely.

my liver is doing better, thank you for asking. no longer doing it's "otis-in-the-drunk-tank" impression and i am more than thankful.

part of this journey of stripping down and deconstruction that i've been on is to do the real internal inquiry as to why my innards have been in revolt...and i have been better for it.

for example, everytime TV would say "anti-oxidant", your DivaCardista would go shopping. And everytime a website would suggest another of nature's superdelegates, again, there i'd be haunting my green grocer...and after a while, my body was like what is going on?

meanwhile, the true inflammation was manifest all through my living / space: financial data all willy nilly, just rife for ID theft and whatnot. not Diva-like at all.

now? everything is suspect or on the bubble. everything in my home MUST serve my needs for air, health, life, progress and positivity. so for the last five weeks its been all about the strip search, deconstruct & fearless inquiry.

You'd be surprised at what can hide in a simple set of hanging files: all kinds of old dead links to accounts long closed, defunct and producing neither money nor fruit.

Same with closests. Got rid of old fake Christmas trees hanging like so many swords of Damocles and threatening me whenever I went to get my coat to escape the cave in which i was "living".

Sometimes a lady just has to say NO!!! If you are not working with me, you will not be working against me, be you an outfit or a big old piece of furniture that no longer contributes verve or style consistent with my present & future goals of joy, love, faith and flavor.

It feels so great now to awaken to a home filled with light and possibility.

And health.

And Jesus joy.

And I wish the same for you.

Hit me back if you, too, can echo this journey.

FreshNew Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com
EasterSunDay is 3/23
Make it special
with a blessedstar card
or gift!

death in texas

now, i know you can't keep a good woman down...

but clinton must be feeling this one.

what is it with cavalcades, presidencies and death in texas?

i pray that this man's family will know God's comfort.

what a time this is.

stay warm,

New Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

clothes, hair, face

as birthday approaches & pregnizone alters personality--who knew?--yr Diva has taken on every dustball & dry bone in her valley.

all dead ideas, dull countenances are are no longer courted with smiles, but scant looks of deep suspicion and swift dismissal if they don't promote life.

spring's a comin and we don't want to be found wanting, waiting or wading thru olde anything that doesn't correlate with whats lively, happening & new.

holla if ya...if ya know what i mean.

fresh Blessings 2 you,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

Love is all we Need

i do hope you are having a happy Valentine's day.

that's it. no political fanfare. just love.

from me 2 you.

Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

Hold up! Wait a Minute!

Your DivaCardista is just trying to get back to the day job, trying to get my AIDA on, when we read cross da scrawl that John Edwards just dropped out of the race!

Talking bout a nail biter!

Stay tuned...

Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

I'm Free! Free Falllllin!

“It bordered on science fiction to think that someone as liberal on as many issues as Rudy Giuliani could become the Republican nominee,” said Nelson Warfield, a Republican consultant who has long studied the former mayor’s career. “Rudy didn’t even care enough about conservatives to lie to us. The problem wasn’t the calendar; it was the candidate.”
Copyright © 2008 The New York Times

Well.

I didn't think Giuliani's Florida campaign could go but so well: not only did he but way too many eggs in that basket, but he dared go to the very state where Abner Louima had to go to restart his life after The Horror that happened on Giuliani's watch!

What was he thinking?

Onward and upward, Obama. Onward and upward!

Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com
Valentine's Day is almost here!
Order your a blessedstar card
for your honey today!

Yay Obama!

I am so glad for Obama, if only for continuing to offer hope in a world suffering a serious hope shortage.

And may you find even more hope and joy this day as we all keep on keeping on.

Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

happy birthday, ml!

right now i am just kind of wrung out. much to do & must find focus.

how about these words to get us started:

"an individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

as we reflect on & celebrate the insight, courage and wisdom of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr, may you and i make a concerted attempt to rise above our narrow individualism and reach out to our sisters and brothers today and throughout this new year.

Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com
PS: in fact, making even a small donation to "Give them a sense of Pride" over at DonorsChoose.org [see thermometer] would certainly be a Dr. King Thing2Do today!

boo hoo.

"i found my voice." indeed.

i found mine, too: GOBAMA, GO!

in other news...

remember my pal Anthony? Wellllllll...

In the category of Best Writing for a Dramatic Series he's just been nominated for an NAACP Image Award for his awesome work on "Lincoln Heights"/ "The Vision" [season 2 finale]

Now how awesome is that?

May you be thus inspired this day.

Blessings,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com
2/14 is on its way
so order your Valentine today!

Blind Spots

If at fourth you don't succeed...

No *sigh* we did not pass our road test, but, yet again, thanks for asking. Again.

First / Second time:
dad just died. broken [me &] u was shaky and parallel parking was a mystery only half solved.

~ took a year off to settle nerves, find face & new driving school ~

Third time:
learned to rock the broken u & fairly well cracked the code of parallel parking. however, we failed to distinguish difference between stop for & ignore flashing lights on small school bus.

Fourth time:
k turn is still good, parking is even better, but even as i am now far more aware of the possibility of small blinking school busses--aware & awaiting them with cat-like readiness--it seems as if no one but my friend ami and my driving instructor will ever know how well i park & turn & handle the vehicle over all as i failed to yeild to phantom race car that neither my driving instructor nor i saw upon take off but was smilingly cited by my sweet wrenlike examiner as she etched F into what felt like my heart.

Fifth?
if i don't pass this soon coming tba next time, i'm gonna need at least a fifth. (and a slow boat to china...)

*sigh*

The blues ain't nothin
but a good
woman
feeling bad
about knowing
how 2 drive,
but not how 2 pass
the *&%!@
road
test!

pat yr foot to that, why don'tcha.

some divas are known to make their annual trip to the Carribean or Cuzco, whilst i, on the other hand am surely somewhere helping the local economy by giving liberally of money, time and no small amount of dignity by allllmost getting my driver's license.

the good news is i really have re-learned how to drive. the bad news is what i have described thus far. so, several handfulls of faux cheerios later, i type, as Duke describes my case so eloquently in Solitude.

in other news,

you need to see THE GREAT DEBATORS. full stop. just go. and take your teens & tweens with you.

what a moment in history: Oscar winners Mr. Denzel Wasington and Mr. Forest Whittaker produced by skillionaire Diva and Oscar nominee herself, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, star in critically & locally acclaimed film THE GREAT DEBATORS while Mr. Barak Obama wins in Iowa.

what a time this is, indeed.

ok. so maybe instead of burrowing deeply into my bed as the rotten scene of me not passing plays ad infinitum in my head, i will go to bible study & then set my face like flint and quietly endure the inquisition of invested friends. and then point them to this page.

but come what may, i remain...

Blessedly,
DivaCardista
blessedstarcards.com

ps: happy new year! we shall not be overcome!!