Creole Wisdom

a toast

Two years of blogging. Two years of Creole Wisdom.

In July 2005 I started this after seeing all the other great bloggers and blogs out there. I knew I wanted a fun and creative way to tell my story, especially since I was about to leave home and go out to New York for college.

So here's a cheer of sparkling cider to you my readers.  Creole Wisdom has been everything, but dull, and I hope- a fun read for you.

There have been a few of you who have followed me from the beginning, old blogger friends I'd like to say. I'm sure it's been fun for you to watch Creole Wisdom grow. And my new readers, thanks for coming by! Please stop in often and make sure to comment so I know you exist.

Blogging fills the gap and lets me be as creative as I want to. I love how I have found so many wonderful other sites through the blog world.

... And my blog will go on and on...

Up North

Arlene and I are back from Up North, as they call it here in Minnesota.  We were actually about four hours outside of the city (due North) and on Lake Thunder.  We had a fabulous time. Wait, what is that I hear?  You'd like to see pictures.  Of course:

Our cabin at Andersen's Resort, right on the lake!

The ladies of the hour, Miss Ar and I.

Lovely water lilies. The Lake was crystal clear, gorgeous pale green water.  We spent most of the time fishing catching sunfish and one giant walleye. Of course: sleeping, reading books, napping in the sun, eating delicious food, and just chatting was part of the agenda. We of course had to make time for:

I love the look of the cabin, looking in at night.

Today we are busy, setting up Arlene's blog (yeah), taking headshots for her theatrical career, and munching on bagels for breakfast. Happy Tuesday.

three cheers!

Three cheers, three cheers, three cheers for Arlene!

That's right my friends, she's coming on an areoplane tonight at five pm. I have much to do to prepare for her, but I have yet to introduce her fabulousness to you.

This is Miss Arlene.  This lovely darling and I met the very first day of moving into the dorms freshman year. We were both two domestic ladies and made grand plans for Sunday dinners.  We would fry chicken, bake asparagus, and whip up corn muffins.  Sometimes we'd invite the other folks on the fourth floor and they'd trickle over with something to add to our feast.

Many an afternoon was spent on Ar's bean bag chair munching on her ramin noodles and discussing our issues with boyfriends, professors, and crazy classmates/roomies. One sad time I was crying, on the toilet (classy, I know) and on the phone with Ar.  She said, "I am not going to listen to you cry on the phone, I'm coming over." I pulled up my panties and let her in, she made it all better.

Then there was the "adventure" of Ar at the Lawrence hospital.  It was I who snuck her in the bagel she was not supposed to have (oh well). Did you know they have valet parking there (only in Bronxville), but could not let a woman have some bagel? Hm.  Good thing for girlfriends.

On occasion, Arlene gets to play my muse:


Sassy!

I am anticipating:
Laughing my booty off
Taking thousands of pictures
Catching up on things like crazy men and school
Cooking together like old times
Just having fun!

a love letter

My darling, Glad white plastic bag,

You are perhaps becoming more than just a garbage container to me.  With you lovely non-see through shade of creamy white and your perfect size you have become my sicky bed companion.

Mr. Glad bag you are clever.  You are small, and easy to bring in the car or just a few feet to the bed where I now reside.

You are dependable.  They don't just say, "don't get mad, get Glad" for no reason. 

I wish you held the answers to life's questions: like why only last year my stomach was one of steel.  It was fun to be on a crazy airplane rides, do u-turns in the car, and eat whatever my heart desired.

Is twenty the magic year, Mr. Glad bag? The year of being sick now THREE times in the past four months?

Thank goodness I have you.  You've gotten me through, through many a tough moment.  I plan on buying you from now on.

I love you,

Signed: Miss. Barf 2007

of birthdays and such

It would not be a good birthday without a blog shout out would it not?  So without further delay I give you Miss Jay.  Happy birthday darling!  May all your double decade dreams come true.  Now darling readers, let me tell you about my lovely sister Jay.

Take a little jog with me down memory lane to the disgustingly hot first day of college at a little well known institution of learning in one of New York's finer places- Bronxville. Gasping, out of breath in my pink polo and white eyelet skirt eyes ablaze as a result of computer frustrations I met Miss Jay.  Our very first interaction went something like this- me complaining:
"OH, it is just so frustrating to work a mac in a PC system!  Ugh, I still cannot get my Internet to work."
As a result Jay thought I was "crazy" (her exact words), but introduced herself to me sweetly like any good southern woman would do-

After a bonding initiated over technological anguish (what is better?) We started to become such wonderful, dear friends.  While attempting to stay awake during Komozi's Black History class, and not to kill Tate for his idiotic comments Jay and I would write notes about range rovers and future children's names based on Lawrence Park West streets-

Oh there were many more adventures besides those of the academic kind.  A certain event when Jay's crazy roommate (the one with the bloody pk pants and sheets on her bed that were never washed, oh did I forget about the funky smelling feet?) ruined her laptop.  It became a Tri-effort of Jay, Molly, and I to move her to a single.  All was well until shrieks from the artist kid across the hall reminded us once again what kind of school we were at.

Miss Jay is without a doubt one of the best friends I have ever had.  She is close, like family to me.  Jay is classy, brilliant, articulate, kind, funny as hell, and a joy to be around.  She brings out the best in me, and has humored me many times by being my model (such a beauty) for my photography. Jay is supportive, understanding, and thoughtful.  She was one of the first people who knew I was going to be baptized, and she encouraged it.  After all, she does have the Moroni tree topper (go gurl).

Jay and I talk as much as we possibly can.  Many of our conversations begin with our classic, "let's talk about girlfriend."  However we have discussed it all, and even analyzed the difference between a MacBook and MacBook Pro (that's what friends are for!) Jay would call me up after looking at something crazy on facebook or my blog and would laugh on my voice message- I think I saved it just so I could hear her infectious giggle on a bad day.

Jay is a lover of all things beautiful and classic.  She plays Cello, is going to be studying at a prestigious school in London for Fall Semester, and adores (adores!) stationary.  While some women go out and purchase shoes Jay and I hit up New York's finest paperies-

Jay is the right kind of woman to have around.  Not only is she politically savvy, but she is domestic and stylish to boot.  Jay adores a good manicure at an affordable price-

Furthermore, to end this birthday-stream-of-consciousness I'd like to say that I am so DANG thankful for Jay in my life.  Here's two TWENTY more wonderful years of living life the Jay way.  I love you darling!
Cheers!

proud

I read a post on a blog a while back (forgot which one!) and decided to try what they did here.  Lately I've been in a funk and feeling a little ungrateful, and tonight I really realized (again) how very blessed I am.  There are many things I have to be proud of.

First and foremost I am proud to be a Latter-day Saint. While it has been an interesting experience telling friends and family the joy I have found is the gospel is undescribeable.  Some people never find themselves spirirtually, I'm lucky, I found it at a pretty young age.

I'm proud to be a Minnesotan.  Yes, it's cold here, but it's a great place to be raised and live.  I love that almost all the Christmases are white and that the summers are blazing hot.  People are genuine, kind here. And no, in case you were wondering, I don't have an accent!

I am the child of a mix-race marriage, and I am very proud of my heritage.  I love that I am part African-American, Creole and part German-American. It has not always been easy, and ignorant comments are things I have experienced, however I think it makes me unique.  I am proud of my PA-dutch, hard working, farming roots and my Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana slave heritage.  I come from strong, working people.

I am proud to be a stubborn, slightly spoiled, independent only child!  I cherish the close relationships I have been blessed to have with my parents because of this. 

I am proud to say that I attend a large, state school after transferring from a small, prestigious school.  I am thankful I made a smart decision to do so-

I am one hard worker.  I am proud to say that I worked:
-At Seaplane in Portland, Oregon (and did some free modeling for them... oy!)
-For Maria at Collage on NE Alberta (pictured below)
-On the Nick Fish for City Council campaign summer '04
-For the Brown, Nolan, and Skutt families as a babysitter
-At the Sarah Lawrence, YWCA, and current preschool
-Summer intern at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal (last year)

I am proud to say that I am one domestic woman.  I love all things homey, baking, cooking, and making your home beautiful.  I have always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, and can say that to anyone's face without "shame." 

I am proud that I met and fell in love with Matt when I was eighteen years old.  I am proud of all the life lessons he, and our relationship taught me.  I am proud of the person I have grown into since that all- I am proud to have experienced something that not everyone on this earth gets to feel.

I am proud of the way I handle conflict and difficult situations.  I am proud of the way that I handled my parent's divorce at a young age, the ending of my first serious relationship, moving cross country, and taking a major leap of faith.

I am proud that I graduated from St. Mary's Academy on June 5th, 2005.  I am proud of the hard work I put into four years of school there. I am proud of the friends I made.  I am proud to say that I was on my school's Rose Festival court.  I am also proud to say that spent my senior priveledge hour with Katherine eating at Papa Hydn's and going to Nordies.

I am proud to say that for three years in HS I was a runner.  I ran for my school's cross country team and on the trac at the Mac Club.  I'll never forget running from my home on Henry Court up to the top of the hill and looking at the mountains across the skyline.

I am proud to say that I love blogging and cherish the many friends I've made through it.

What are you proud of?

San Fran Album

I love mini albums.  Since I am a big ol' regular scrapbook a year kind of girl I rarely get to do them.  I thought since I went on a few fun trips this summer making a couple would not hurt.  It's almost my mom's birthday and I'm sure she'll love the birthday album I created for her a while back.  About a month ago I started working on a San Fran album from my father's day trip in June.

In all honesty it was not too difficult to create.  I love the scrapworks albums because you have space for photos and then pages (brilliant).  I purchased a pack of Amy Butler paper, letter stickers, and cardstock.  When I travel I like to save a lot of little odds and ends (tickets, business cards, etc...) Rarely I end up using them, but this album was an exception to that as well.

As you can see from the inner pages (above) I tried to keep it all simple.  I utilized a lots of business cards with San Fran addresses on them, as well as cafe post cards.  All in all it feels really nice to be "done" with this project. 

For me, this kind of stuff is such an escape from the regular, crazy world.  I get to be creative and have fun!  What could be better? And yes, if you wondered I was a total technology nerd and took these with my Canon 20D.

Just for fun

Saw this over at Emily Kate's blog, and had to try it out for fun!

My roommates (Arlene) and I once: Put pillows in our shirts and walked around and took pictures pretending we were pregnant.  We were laughing so hard, I nearly peed my pants.  We then posted them on facebook, and it was divinely hilarious.

Never in my life have I: Been in a serious car accident. 

High school was: Fun!  Senior year was the best.  I loved my friends at St. Mary's.

When I’m nervous: Get quiet.  Real quiet.

My hair: Curly!

When I was 5: Went to kindergarten and had a "boyfriend" named Fabrizio (yeah, go ahead and laugh)

When I turn my head left: I can see my laundry basket ½ full

I should be: Defrosting chicken for dinner

By this time next year: I will be a senior in college!

My favorite aunt is: Aunt Barbara (dad's side) and Aunt Anne (mom's)

(Aunt Barbara, myself, Aunt Emily Ann)

I have a hard time understanding: The concept of daycare (go figure).

You know I like you if: I tell you!  Yes, I am "bold" like that!

My ideal breakfast is: Crepes from OPH.  Mmm.

If you visit my home town: You would understand why I am so very proud.

If you spend the night at my house: Be prepared for my "no talking" for one hour after getting up rule.  I am not kidding. As demonstrated in the photo below, this is what happens when you try to speak to me right after waking up.  I will give you a frown. This picture also sums up my feelings for camping ; )
 

My Favorite blonde is: Abby, a childhood friend!

My favorite brunette is: Jay and Jana.

The animal I would like to see flying besides birds: Kitty cats!

I shouldn’t have been: so worried worried worried all the time!

Last night I: Went to Ole's with Jana and he fed us roasted chicken with seasoned potatos and chocolate cake.  Yes, he is amazing.  He then said, "now girls- I have a friend coming over to join us and you have to be on your best behavior!"  Does that tell you how crazy we can get?  We toned it down : )

A better name for me would be: Let's see, perhaps my middle name- Louse? Katie is much too common for my tastes and does not really reflect my personality.  I have, on more than one occasion, had random folks say that I "look" like a Melanie.

I now tag: Stephanie, Jay, Shannon, and Adrienne. 

summer weekend review

Friday:
Park picnic with Jana and friends at Minnehaha Falls. This is such a great place for this, and we stayed until it was pitch dark outside.

I love this old fashioned sign.  So happy they keep stuff like this up for the vintage lovers like myself.

Saturday:
Jana and I had a sleepover, and were true anti-morning people waking up around 11am!  At 4:30 I had a date with a nice guy from the other singles ward (we met at the 4th of July picnic).  He took me out to sushi (yum) and then to see Transformers.  I have to say that I think it was excellent, I loved it! 

Sunday:
Church as usual.  One of the sales guys brought a baby of a co-worker, it turned out that his parents had a medical emergency so we had a small visitor.  I'd have to say that he was so very well behaved, and unlike the bishops' one year old granddaughter, does not growl during sacrament meeting.  It's nice to see kids in church sometimes.

Then Tyler (a sales guy from AZ), Jana, and myself headed over to the missionary home where I (eek) shared my testimony in front of about a million people.  I knew that I had been assigned this, but had no idea so many people would be there! It was kind of stressful to do that, but really good for me.

After the three of us headed back to Jana's and eat grilled cheese, avocados, and listen to Michale Bublé.

Good weekend. 

Oh, and excuse me.  I need to edit this post as brought to my attention from commenter Brian.  Brian was the kind guy who asked me out a few weeks ago.  We eat a wonderful meal at Macaroni Grill (I had the lobster ravioli, no reaction thank-you-very-much and in-your-face-doctor-allergist-man who said "no" to lobster).  I had never been so it was a great choice.  I love the fact that they give you crayons to draw on the paper covered tables!  Then we went and walked around in a lovely park, it was so beautiful.  After there was indulgence at Cold Stone.  And yes, Brian was the first LDS guy to formally ask me out on a date, so he does deserve to be blogged about!

you've got the write stuff, bab-y

Aside from being a terribly awful, horrendous blogger recently (blame it on my horrendous, full-time job) I do have quite exciting news friends out there in cyberspace:

I am going to be writing for Blog Segullah in early August! 

Wait, what's that I hear- you don't know about Segullah?  Well where have you been gurlfriend(s)?!?

In case you were dying to know, Segullah is a wonderful site dedicated to Latter-Day Saint womens' writings and musings.  Their mission statement says,

Welcome to Segullah, a journal designed to encourage literary talent, provoke thought and promote greater understanding and faith among Latter-day Saint women. We publish insightful writings which explore life's richness and complexity while reflecting faithfulness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our aim is to highlight a variety of women's perspectives within a framework of shared beliefs and values.

In Hebrew segullah signifies a cherished personal possession that is set apart and diligently cared for; it is a term the Lord has used with affection to describe His covenant people (Exodus 19:5, Psalms 135:4), and one we use here in remembrance of the blessings and responsibilities we receive in relationship with Him.

How neat is that?!?  And you know you must start reading their stuff, it's so good and wonderful.  A dear blogger friend of mine CJane, posts there often. 

I will keep you all abreast of recent literary developments of the Segullah kind and will be linking like a mad woman when my piece is up. 

(I promise to be back this weekend with pictures and more date/men stories for you)