Gone too soon

Like everyone else yesterday, I was (and still is) in complete and utter shock regarding the passing of Michael Jackson. I was at the gym yesterday when I heard the news. I immediately turned to MSNBC, thinking the media had jumped the gun and there was no way that Michael Jackson had died. Unfortunately, they were right. I was in utter dismay. I continued my workout on the treadmill so that I could watch t.v. and get the latest updates. But that plan soon changed. The moment MJ's death was confirmed, the media started talking about Michael's legal woes, eccentricities and all around weirdness. The man had just died and already they were already trashing him. Regardless of how people feel about Michael, you can not deny the fact that the man was a musical genius. If it weren't for Michael Jackson, there would be no Usher, Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake. He influenced generations of people. That can not be taken away from him.

I will admit that I've always been more of a Prince fan than a Michael fan. But when I look back on my childhood, Thriller was the soundtrack. It was all about that album. I remember waiting for the Thriller video to premiere and being amazed by it once it was over. We then watched it over and over to learn the choreography and then go outside and re-enact it from start to finish. I can still bust out some of those zombie moves now. Ha-ha! When I was in the 5th grade I had a HUGE crush on this 6th grader named Rodney (I can't believe I remember his name). What was so special about him you ask? Well, he looked just like Michael Jackson. He had the gerri curl, red leather jacket from the Beat It video and the sunglasses. You couldn't tell me nothing. I thought that boy was FINE!

My favorite Michael Jackson song is "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing). That song was my jam. I used to think the song was about me. I remember walking in my neighborhood and hearing a boy shout out to me "Hey PYT!" And I'd give a cheesy grin and think I was the ish! I still love that song to this day!

We lost a great artist yesterday. His legacy will continue to live on because he touched so many people with his music. As I'm typing this, I'm listening to Michael Jackson on my iPod. His music never gets old or tired. Whenever I hear a Michael Jackson song on the radio, I start grooving. I heard on the radio this morning a clip of a MJ interview and what he said resonated with me: Great music is immortal.

Yes it is. And because of your great music, you will be with us forever.

R.I.P. Michael

School's out for summer!

I'm almost a week late with this post. Darrius' last day of school was last Wednesday. Darrius is no longer a 5th grader. He is now a 6th grader. I can't believe it. Thank goodness Darrius' school goes up to the 6th grade so I have one more year where I won't have to start dealing with middle school madness. He turns 11 in August and from what I've read, that makes him a"tween". I don't think I'm ready for this. I still see him as my baby. He will always be my baby regardless of his age.

To keep him occupied this summer, he's going to summer camp at Yong In Martial Arts Academy. He goes there every year for summer break. It's very laid back and relaxed. The kids have tae kwon do lessons in the afternoon. They do a different activity each day. They has take the kids to Six Flags every week. The only thing extra we have to pay for is his Six Flags season pass which I think is a great deal.

This year Darrius' vacation is 6 weeks long instead of the typical 5 weeks. School starts August 3rd. We will be in St. Maarten. So lucky him, he will be missing the first week of school. And of course he's not complaining.

Here's to a great summer!

Happy Father's Day

I know I'm a day late. I was trying to find a pic of me and my Daddy. Unfortunately, my scanner is not working so I couldn't' scan a pic to my laptop so that I can add it to my post. I will be using a pic of my parents. I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

I am a Daddy's girl. I think my Dad is the BEST. He loves my mom and you can see that love in the way he looks at her. When I see how my dad is with my mom, I think to myself - that is how a man is supposed to treat a woman.

Growing up, my dad was tough. We didn't take his quiet nature for granted. He instilled in us great morals and values. We knew that in order to make in life, education was key. He didn't mess around when it came to school.

And now my dad is the best Pop-Pop out there. The grandkids have him wrapped around their fingers. And he continues to deny it.

Happy Father's Day Daddy. No matter how old I get, you will always be Daddy to me.

The Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

I love the HBO show "True Blood." It's my new favorite obsession and I was counting down until the season premiere last Sunday. While perusing the blogs that I follow, I found a reading challenge that I can really sink my teeth into. Ha-ha. I've never read any of books in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Series. But since I've started watching "True Blood" I've been interested in reading the books; mostly to compare the books to the TV show. And now, here's my chance!

Here's the link to the blog post that explains how the challenge works.





I can't wait! Summer reading here I come!

Side note: I'm nowhere near finished with my VCA reading challenge. I have a lot of reading I need to do!

Goals Update

We're almost halfway through 2009. Boy time does fly! Here's a quick update on my 9 Goals for 2009.

1. Run a 5k Race - Unfortunately, I haven't done that yet. I was hoping to be ready for my first 5k last week (The National Race for the Cure). No excuses - I let laziness get the best of me. But I'm back on track now. I'm 4 weeks into my training and it has been kicking my butt - in a good way. I hope to run a 5k by August if not sooner. I will be walking in a 5k race next Saturday. I'm going to attempt to run/walk so that I can get the feel of running outside.

2. Read a Great American Novel - In my last update I mentioned I read "The Great Gatsby". My intent was to read another novel. I haven't as of yet. I don't know what to read. I may just close my eyes and point and whatever my finger lands on, that's what I'll be reading.

3. Be a better citizen of the world - I have been keeping up with this but not as much as I would have liked. My efforts have been steered more towards recycling and going green. I've started purchasing "green" cleaning products. I recycle as much as possible. And I now use reusable bags for my groceries. No more plastic for me! The little things go a long way.

4. Stop sweating the small stuff - I find myself still doing that. It's a hard habit to break. But I intend to break it. I just need to be more cognizant of doing it.

5. Stop using negative phrases - I think I have gotten better. I do make the conscious effort to suppress the inner pessimist. The best way for me to do that is to keep my mouth shut. Period.

6. Take a writing class - I hope to sign up for a writing class in the Fall. I was going to sign up for a summer class but I waited too long. Hey - another goal should be for me to stop procrastinating!

7. Decide what I want to do with my career - I know what I want to do. It's just a matter of getting there. I know that I want to work in a Library. But the jobs I've looked at all require a Masters in Library Science. I need to get off my arse and research and find out what I need to do to make that happen.

8. Finish swimming lessons - I was hoping to have this done before we go on vacation this summer. It doesn't look like that's going to happen. I'm tempted to ask hubby to give me lessons in my father-in-law's pool. It's free! But I think we'd argue too much. Let me rephrase that - I will be arguing too much! LOL!

9. Continue to improve - This is ongoing. I'm slowly getting there. Baby steps, baby steps.