The Mommabrown, Brown Queen of the Month is…

Maxine Waters!!!

Watching the California Representative take on Henry Paulson Treasury Secretary (and his bag full of bullish and his lack of accountability) was electrifying!  Looking her up on the net is one thing, but watching her on CSPAN is a whole ‘nother thing. 

To Representative Maxine Waters:

Be Blessed, Be Bold, Be Beautiful Brown Queen!!!

Loving and Being Loved in a New Way~ BabyBrown

LMAO!!! Thanks to mommabrown bringing this video to my attention… please watch this (especially if you need a quick pick me up…lol)

What was she thinking??? Those shoes weren’t even popping? LOL

hahahaha ~BabyBrown

I haven’t written a post since the 3rd… but boy have things CHANGED!  YEAH OBAMA!!!

But onto something less fascinating, but none-the-less interesting - just because… enjoy

ha ha ha ha ~ BabyBrown

Vote for Obama, and we’ll pop bottles tomorrow! 

That’s all I have to say!!!

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed someone to be there for you, but when you needed them they where ghost?

Then has that person ever needed your help?

What did you do?  What would you do?

Jess can tell yall I’ve come a long way… in the past I would have made a huge stink and kicked that person out of my life… because reciprocity is so important…

But the ‘Golden Rule’ says something different:

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself…”

That’s mad hard, but Love… Love makes you loosen up your rules, and teaches you to love people past their faults and flaws… and maybe just maybe they will learn the errors of their ways and all will be well…

Well, we’ll see how everything turns out…

I never liked this Musiq Soulchild song, Teach Me, but I think that it is apropos… Some people need to be taught ‘How to act right’… but you know my motto, I don’t want to do anything that ‘yo momma should have taught you…’ but I will stand by you as long as I can to make this thing work… Be Blessed…

Stuck Between Reciprocity and a Hard Place ~ B.B.

So, every once in a while I get severe allergy attacks… I mean everything starts itching and swelling…my throat and ears started to close up… and my breathing began to be labored… I had to make an emergency room visit, and was accompanied by someone… however, I hate going through the recovery process alone…  I understand that most of us are super busy, but my momma always told me that we make time for the things that are important to us…  

For instance, if she told me to do some chores after school, I would often say that I was busy; however, I would always find time to chat it up on the phone or let one of my friends come over, because that was important to me… 

Even if you’re busy, I’m sure that a text message, a phone call or a visit, to ensure that the person that you say you love is okay, it is possible.  At least I know that I would do that.  I always say that I am a ‘rider’ which means that regardless of the circumstances, I’m going to be there for the people who I love.  However, I do think that reciprocity is important… otherwise, one person is doing ‘all the loving’ and the other is just ‘reaping the benefits’… 

However, this whole bit about recovering all by myself has reminded me of one thing, and that’s how I used to get a long when I was single, and I first moved away from all of my family, friends and support networks… However, that’s a dangerous place to visit when you’re in a close relationship with a ‘supposed friend, family member or a lover’… the place of singleness and solitude reminds you that in the absence of support and help, you are actually quite self sufficient and are quite capable of managing on your own.  Moreover, you don’t need ‘ghost riders’…people who appear to be there, but they offer no substantial comfort or help… 

Maybe, underappreciated and under loved by others, but I appreciate and love myself ~B.B.

What to do next…  

Okay, like many people, I have a lot going on at the end of the year!  However, my hair and the variety of kinks, coils and curls that are up there must look fresh ta def! lol 

I absolutely positively, don’t want my hair out when the weather is cold, because the extreme weather is unforgiving on our type of hair, which loves moisture.  So leaving your natural hair out without it falling out will be an uphill battle… 

So this is the point when I like to rely on protective styling more than ever.  What is protective styling you ask?  Well it is any hairstyle that keeps your natural hair from being damaged.   

The most common protective styles are braids… now you can wear cornrows or box braids… it doesn’t matter just as long as they are not too tight or strenuous on your hair and roots.  So that means that you may have to forgo the African shops that like to pull so hard that customers look like a Klingon.   

I stopped trusting other people’s hands on my head years ago… I remember I was on 125^th and I wanted to get flat twists going up into a bun.  When I looked in the mirror, it looked like The Leaning Tower of Pisa, and I was pissed!  That day, I took the whole thing down and redid my hair the right way, and ever since then I had a knack for styling my own hair… 

Every moment should be a moment of excellence if you can work it out to be that way!  So even though I have to deal with a lot of traveling, surgery, shopping and finishing up a lot of work, BabyB has to look cute, and I know you do too! 

So I think that braids are the way to go for me!  But what is your winter hair plan? 

Taking it One Day at a Time ~ BabyBrown

So it’s that time of life… whether through Facebook or phone calls, I’m finding that many people that I know are getting engaged, married or popping out babies.   

For many of you who are in committed relationships, and who are talking about moving things forward; one of your primary concerns should be about wanting to ensure that your friend/significant other is as comfortable as possible.  Try not to jeopardize the comfort of your friendship by tripping: 

To help you keep things cool, calm and collected here’s some tips for guys or gals whose relationships are transitioning to the next level: 

1.       Waiting for a marriage proposal can be time-consuming, stressful and nerve-racking.  So try to keep your mind on other things such as self improvement and striving to be the person that your significant other fell in love with. 

2.     Just because you are ready for the relationship to move to the next level, doesn’t mean that your significant other is ready for it to happen in your specific time frame.  Be honest about your desires, but don’t be pushy.  Hear your significant other out, you might be pleasantly surprised by finding out that your desires or time frame is quite similar, or maybe you two can meet half way.   

3.     Make sure you know yourself. During the dating period is a good time to reevaluate who you are.  Deal with your issues; look into counseling or support groups so that you can work through your anxiety in a healthy, helpful way. 

4.     Make sure your needs are being met, don’t be so fiend out for a ring that you are trying to ‘put lipstick on a pig’.  If you need your significant other to help out around the house, and you decide not to mention it, because you believe that a ring and wedding ceremony will change that, you are fooling yourself.  Don’t let your desires, cloud your necessities.  Now is the time to resolve your own issues or problems, not after the honeymoon. 

5.     Messages boards and blogs are good places to post messages on frustration and anxiety about waiting. Talk with other people before bombarding your significant others with your worries and anxiety.  

6.     Make sure to talk to your significant other but don’t obsess.  Be honest about your feelings, your significant other should be your best friend, right?  So you should be able to share your thoughts and feelings, but don’t trip.  Don’t talk about it everyday, or maybe not even every month.  You don’t want your obsession to sully something special. 

7.     Men and women think differently. Sometimes it’s hard for women to realize that men think differently. The words he says may be your indicator of what he thinks or feels. Listen to what your boyfriend says. Don’t write it off thinking he doesn’t feel the same. If he says ‘just be patient honey, just wait awhile longer’, he might actually mean that! Perhaps he has a surprise planned, and he can’t say anything or it would ruin the surprise. Women don’t always understand the pressure men are in to make the proposal perfect. Maybe there are things he wants to do first in order to make your life better during and after the engagement. Sometimes men have steps they need to make first, themselves. 

8.     Sometimes it’s hard for men to understand that women experience a lot of individual and social pressures when it comes to the idea of engagement and marriage.  So cut her some slack, and do what you can to make her feel secure.  Even if you are a supportive and nurturing man, if you notice that your baby girl is acting differently, do everything you can to quench her vulnerabilities and insecurities during this emotionally tumultuous time. 

9.     Enjoy yourself now. You don’t have to wait for your future dreams to come true to be happy. Do things for yourself, now. Go shopping just for yourself, get your hair cut, lose weight, tone up, or just think positively. Take some time to do something you love. Perhaps this positive change and some extra self esteem will be just what your boyfriend/girlfriend is looking for. They will see you content, and realize they can’t live their life without you. 

Happy Loving ~ BabyBrown

Throwback Thursday! 

Do you remember Spike Lee’s School Days?  Do you remember the song from the soundtrack ‘Da Butt’?

Well, the extended version is below… so enjoy! 

You can put this on blast, and ‘do da butt’ and shimmy into the weekend!

Loving and Being Loved in a New Way ~ BabyBrown

Okay, Jewels, Ice, Bling… whatever you want to call it, wherever you want to put it, whatever the occasion, people simple love diamonds!Marilyn Monroe even dedicated a song to the fact that ‘Diamonds are a girls best friend’…  But I’m asking you, your opinion…Do you prefer gemstones or diamonds?  Can you tell the difference?  How important is tradition, in wearing a diamond engagement ring?  If you found a stone (not cubic zirconium) that had many of the same properties as a diamond, and looked like a diamond, but it cost less and had more bling what would you do? 

  Some people argue that, the thousands of dollars that you spend for blood diamonds could be used towards a downpayment on a home?But others believe that tradition should stand the test of time, and using diamonds are better than a diamond ‘look-a-like’.WHAT DO YOU THINK???

A few random thoughts to get you thinking (taken from another website).

• Moissanite is a near colorless gemstone.
  Most common Diamonds are classified in this range.
• Moissanite ranks 9.25 on the Mohs Hardness scale making it the second hardest gem.
  Diamond ranks 10 making it the hardest gem.
• Moissanite possess more fire or dispersion (the flashes) at .104
  Diamond rates considerably lower at .044
• Moissanite also has a higher refractive index or brilliance (the sparkle) at 2.65
  Diamond comes in at 2.42
• Moissanite is only available as a lab-created stone as its natural state is not found on Earth (it was discovered in a meteorite).
  Diamond is readily available in its natural state and there are now companies creating lab-created diamond see Apollo, Gemesis, and Takara.
• Moissanite costs a fraction of its diamond equivalent.
  Diamonds are sold to us as an “investment”, but the average consumer isn’t purchasing investment grade stones and very few jewelers will buy them back at full price unless you “upgrade” with a more expensive stone.
• One company Charles and Colvard holds the patent for jewelry grade moissanite.
  One company has been known for controlling the diamond market and its prices.

Moissanite is more expensive than the average cubic zirconium, but you are also buying a man-made gemstone that is going to keep its beauty as well as diamond does, unlike your average CZ which clouds and scratches after a relatively short time.

Loving and Being Loved in A New Way ~ BabyBrown