MBF seeks Gal Pal

This post is inspired by my soul sistah over at Omigosh, Let Me Tell You...

I had never had more than two or three close girlfriends at a time until I got to grad school. Then, God poured out the blessings and I got a whole crew of girls who I honestly considered the very best friends I've ever had (with the exception of the ever-fabulous C in Houston). A whole crew of girls! Four girls who were my age, at the same stage of life as me, living in my city, sharing all my hobbies. It was fantastic! Then we all scattered across the country. Even though I'm in constant contact with them, they are not here. I think I've mentioned before what a difficult time I've had in WA making friends. I have made a couple of friends here, but they are not my girls.

If I had the balls (and the money), I'd rent billboard space in Capitol Hill and Bel-Red with the following advertisement:

Married Black Mom of One seeks Gal Pal. Must be available for hanging out on nights and weekends, and during the day for Facebook/texting/email communication. Need not be married, but must have mentally outgrown her 20s. All income brackets are welcome, but she will be expected to trade at least one round of drinks. Must be sassy, funny, witty, philosphical, brainy, nerdy, silly, athletic, easily entertained and thoughtful. Should be able to switch from Mean Girl to Nice Girl at the blink of an eye and must be a "stunna". Should be into fashion, but not ruled by fashion. Must be able to talk at length about celebrity gossip, sports or scientific advancements. A dedicated yoga practice is not required, but highly recommended.Must have reliable transportation and live within 15 miles of Bel-Red. Must be willing to drive out of town for the perfect ice cream cone or catfish dinner. Serious inquiries only.

I miss the Hot Girls.

Juggling Acts

Well, today is my first day back at work after my 6 weeks of maternity leave. And even though there are 350 unread emails in my inbox, plus a stack of mail that overran not only my box, but the unclaimed box next to it. The 8-5 world is SO much easier than the full-time mommy world. I can answer the phone when it rings, check my Gmail. Eat snacks. I had so much fun taking care of my Little Lady Bug full-time, but am so glad to be back in the world of adult conversations and professional attire.

I feel like I've been out of the country for the past month and a half. I haven't had much time to watch the news and reading the paper or cnn.com was completely out of the question. So, I'm having to get up to speed, not only with what I missed at work, but what I've missed in the world. Its overwhelming, but I'm up to the task.

As I step into this new role as a Modern Mom, I am excited to see how I will manage to keep my career on track, nurture and care for my baby and keep my entrepeneurship afloat (I've had to hire staff!). I have no clue what I'm doing, as they don't write manuals for this stuff. But, I do believe that I am an awesome person and will figure out how to get it done. We'll see!

Another reason for me to hate the state of Mississippi

I have been to Mississippi once and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I've only been to Jackson, but I figure, if that's how it is in the state capitol then the rest of there is no hope for the rest of the state. My impression is that the place got stuck in 1953 or so and just never moved on. One of my favorite blogs summed up my feelings for MS well:

Surprise! Who knew Mississippi was still a state? We just assumed that after the Civil War and Trent Lott, America would just kind of let the lease run out.

Well, I read this little jewel in this month's issue of Essence Magazine:

George Lambus, a Black republican running for mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, says he's tough on crime - and thinks the best way to fight it is to bring back the hanging noose.

Go figure.

Speaking of Former Hot Girls...

The last time I was in NYC, I spent the entire weekend eating Chinese food in dank basement restaurants, manuevering the back alleys of Chinatown for the best knock-off designer bags, going for falafels at 4 in the morning and sipping martinis in swank bars.

I'll be heading back in June, but this time, I must make sure that any restaurant I eat at is stroller-friendly, I'll be sending my mother through the alleys while I bargain via text message, and the only 4 am feedings will be in a hotel chair, by lamplight with one or both breasts exposed. Yes, Little Miss and I are taking her first vacation to the Big Apple to meet my mom there. Mom & I are going to see the Broadwar revival of The Wiz, while Little Miss gets to know her aunt, uncle and cousins.

A new friend of mine asked me if all my Yelp! posts from here on out will be about the family-friendliness of restaurants instead of how quickly my drinks arrived from the bar and how late the restaurant stayed open (and served quality food). I think she may be on to something. Now, I'm more concerned about whether or not restaurants have those cool carseat slings and family restrooms than what the food might actually taste like!

Its a brand-new life for me. A completely alien one. But, I love it! I have to rethink the way we vacation (I guess nude beaches and adult-only resorts are out for now), the way we shop (if I'm going by myself, I have to time it between feedings), the company we keep (cuz there are only a select few I will let touch Little Miss) and our activity schedule (don't want to over-stimulate her). Now, the search for a travel nanny begins.

4/18/09

Where have I been? Eyes glued to this little beauty. marveling over tiny fingers and toes. Counting baby breaths as she sleeps at night. Swaddling. Snuggling. Amazed at how smart a newborn person is. And strong! Falling in love with each gurgle, gassy smile and glance my way.

Tids and Bits

The other day, I found one of hubby's new-ish shirts in the trash. I pulled it out and gave it a thorough once-over. I didn't see anything wrong with it, so I asked him why it was in the trash. Hubby's response was "A button came off." My husband lost a button on his shirt, so he thought the shirt was somehow ruined. I offered to sew a new button on and he was absolutely amazed that I knew how to sew a button on a shirt. Apparently, that's a skill that only serious designers and seamstresses have.

Bizarre.

Meanwhile, while he was throwing away buttons on shirts, I made this memo board to replace the vision board that was up in the baby's nursery:



It was my first attempt at such a memory board and I think it came out perfectly! Also, you might notice that there are 5 buttons sewn into this memory board.

Insomnia!

I was sleeping along just fine and them - BAM! - my eyes sprung open. All of the sudden I was wide awake. My body took a 5 hour rest and decided it had had enough. I was so disappointed because I was actually in a very comfortable position (which is hard to maintain when you're 9 months pregnant).

So, after laying there for 30 minutes or so, I thought I should get up and make good use of the time. Figaro and I went to the kitchen and had a snack. I washed dishes, I prepped some of Baby K's cloth diapers. I wrote a letter. I finished the novel I had been reading.

At 4:15, I thought I'd give sleep another chance and snuggled under the covers to see what would happen. I fell asleep almost immediately. Then, of course when my alarm went off at 6:00, my brain was screaming "NOOOOOO! NOT YET!!!! WANT MORE SLEEP!"

I dragged my arse out of bed and got my day officially started. Sheesh! False labor on Saturday night robbed me of about an hour of sleep, then this! I wonder what tonight has in store?

In other news, my BFF, Christy, came up for a short weekend trip and threw me a virtual shower. It was very cool to host a shower on the internet and have my friends and family all over the globe tune it. I loved it and everyone had fun playing games and interacting online. Technology - I am so ahead of the curve!