Girls with glassess are CRAFTY!

Today is show off your craftiness day! Now, this is not significant to Tuesday, or February 1, but only to show that I'm feeling a little crafty lately. AND-- I wanted to show off my first CUTE scrapbook pages. This won't be the best view because I took it with my cellphone but it's cute nonetheless. It is a picture of my brother and nephew. I have since upped the cute factor. I'll take a better picture and repost for comparison later tonight. I'm going to try again this weekend! But in the meantime- let me know your thoughts... and if you are crafty yourself!

Girls with Glasses WRITE!

All You Are

I’m thinking…
we could make this work
If you were less involved
Played the back until at least
We could resolve
Our situation which
Has not lessened-
But instead has evolved

If just once you could
Allow your representative, other self
Your puppet head
stand in, while you
collect dust on the shelf


Place your stunt double
In every important scene
Not only the action shots but
Certainly,
those that include me

For those are the ones
When we’re most at risk
A “we” that is shaky
Some times doesn’t exist

When your empty promises
Silent goodbyes
Make me bury deep
The hurt I feel inside

Our reunions are constant
But not like the stars
They’re full of false starts
Like broken down cars
Like a zipper that catches
A snap that’s lost half
Like empty mall carts
So lets do the math...

When you call and I answer
feel numb at your tears
I hear what they explain
They say you're all I have feared

The answer seems simple
This is all a farce
And you’re a joking, ventriloquist
Whose words don’t impart-

Anything meaningful
Lasting beyond the present
Which should also explain
Why I’m always hesitant

And add to the equation
you’re never quite there
Your lips always moving
But blowing hot air

a red balloon in the sky
Tossed about by the wind
Sadly glimpsed in the distance
only every now and then

So, please consider
Letting your under study stand in
She sees my longing
With me , she wants to begin

With me, she sees promise
With me she sees hope
While she is my island
I’m the life saving boat

With me there is love
With me there’s reward
She has no desire to impale
What we might be on a sword

She sees you and I could make it
If she makes her debut
While you play the back
Because all you are is-- you

Girls with Glasses talk HAIR

Well, hello again already chicas! It’s me once more. It’s my goal to make 2-3 updates today. Hope it’s cool. This one will be short but sweet, or at least that is the goal. So, my hair… yeah… It continues to flourish and grow. I still love it, but I haven’t been experimenting or consumed with it lately. We are settled, like a seasoned and boring couple for whom movie night is now an exciting date. LOL! I attended a party recently and the pictures were posted on FB and I marveled at how BIG my hair was on a day when I thought it looked terrible. Check out the pic of me and a lovely curly some of you may recognize from CurlyNikki.com! I am trying out a new product which I will review in a few days. I was trying to wait a week or two before I talk about it. It’s been discussed before on other threads with good reviews and I found it in my city. Stay tuned, I’ll come back to this in a few days!
I lurk a lot of threads on hair and I hear a lot of women say “It’s just hair!”. They are screaming it from the mountain tops, I swear! I’m about to go against the grain on that talk. Yeah, it is just hair but it’s not JUST HAIR. At least not for me. I care about every single part of me, hair included and on some days… especially. Every time I hear someone say that I wonder why only women say it, refer to it as an accessory. I wonder why they never say- ‘it’s just clothes… shoes… jewelry. Things that are actually-- detachable. That would make more sense to me. I mean, you can give those items away. Someone else can often fit them and they often come in one size fits all. I don’t see my hair as THAT way. My hair is no more a simple accessory than are my legs or my arms which are often taken for granted (sorry limbs!). As if they owe us something. As if it is somehow promised they will work tomorrow. I know I have been trying to make amends with my entire body lately. I’ve been exercising, trying to get my limbs back in shape. And since I started my natural journey, I have been doing the same with my hair. I used to take it for granted too. Relax, color, relax, color, cut it off when I didn’t like it anymore, relax, color, relax, color and then chop it all off again. Basically, mistreat it. Called it… IT. But no more. My hair… SHE actually has a name- Thelma. Because she’s a throw back to Good Times (though not for my momma) when my hair was free to be itself and in essence so was I. Thelma is my way of rebelling against a time of learned, self abuse. Thelma is a boycott of the days when the chemical mistreatment of my hair was more costly, important and routine to me than eating a simple, daily breakfast. Well times have changed my friends. I realized it the other day in a cozy, urban coffee shop where my hair and I are normal. Other beautiful curly and naturals chicks hang out there on a regular basis. While rushing to grab a table, I bumped into a non-black woman (who was curly herself) with my over-sized purse. I thought she would be annoyed but instead she turned and expressed that she loved my hair before asking me if I’d seen Good Hair. Of course I had and it was a great compliment. Bottom line though: You accept you. They accept you. It’s that simple.
At the end of the day, my hair is my crown. A jewel. The star on my tree. The number one statement of… me. It is what people see when they look at me. It’s how my husband and son find me when we become separated in a store crowded with relaxers and weaves. It is a part of my i.d. And that’s just fine with me.
So much for short and sweet, huh? ;)

Girls with Glasses... READ

So, I've been gone for a while... The holidays, work, respiratory illnesses, my weight loss quest have kept me hopping to say the least. But I have managed to squeeze in a few extra curricular activities as usual because well... that's just what I do. I'll share some of my other activities in a separate post but in this moment I wanted to discuss my book club. After a rather lovely reunion and breakfast, two friends and I remembered that we first grew close after forming a book club at work (shout out to Lisa B and Miss Limah). Many years have passed and distance has separated us but our affinity for reading has remained. That morning we decided to form an online book club called Beyond Borders. Beyond Borders earned its title because we like to read books that teach us about other cultures. I mean, we can read about ourselves and each other every day and for me anyway, that's boring. Anyway, our book club chooses a selection, reads it before meeting online for a discussion. We meet via stickam.com which allows us to see and speak with each other using webcams. It's great. Ok, now for the juice on the book!
Our first choice was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kholed Hosseini, who is the author of The Kite Runner. Splendid Suns tell the stories of Mariam and Laila whose lives become intertwined by chance and circumstance. They find themselves married to the same man but their lives with him are completely different AND the same. I was trying to think of how to tell you story without telling you the story... And here's what I've got... Want to learn about the history of Afghanistan? Feel like you are there? Perhaps you want a realistic glimpse of the lives and roles of Muslim girls and women... And maybe you just have an interest in reading a story with a heavy dose of someone else's reality, to actually feel for the characters, feel like you know them and share THEIR love for country. If that is the case, you will enjoy this read. It will make you laugh, cry and transport you to another world. For me, it did all those things AND it made me care about lives outside my own backyard. I dare you to read even the first chapter. I guarantee you won't be able to stop.
If you pick it up, come back and tell me your thoughts. And if you are interested in joining my book club- hit me up!

Girls with glasses rock that hair!

Some people think I'm nice, some people think I'm nasty. But if you really want to know just ask me! And I'll say I'm nice-ty! Anyone remember that song? It was by a singer named Michelle (pronounced Michelle-lay) in the 90's I think. She's long gone from the scene but this is my theme song for the month. Why? I don't know. Feeling random and YET- that is my relationship with my hair. LOL! Mostly she plays nice, but on other days she's down right nasty. Straight misbehavin! But I believe that is largely related to my treatment of her (yes, she's a girl- like me). For the most part we get along well. But lately when I'm out in public, folks are feeling her up all the time without permission. They see us up in the club and want to know how she got like that. Loose and wild- ya know? She can deal with the commentary but is none too pleased with the wandering, non-lubricated hands NOR my standing by and letting it happen. I guess there is such a thing as "hair honor"?? But I can't blame her (no one likes that!); all that touching leaves her feeling and looking frazzled and dry. I'm thinking it's high time I intervene. So, let's make a deal- don't touch Thelma (yes, she has a name...) and if you really wanna know (about my regimen)- just ask me! And I'll answer nicely.

But seriously- I'm no hair expert. But I will share my regimen and styling tips if you wanna know. And sometimes if you don't. For instance- to achieve the style shown in the pics- I braided it using Bee Mine Curly Butter while it was wet and took it down the next day. If you're looking for a good styler with hold, check it out.

~Peace and love - LBoogie

Goapele visits Vonn Jazz Lounge

I'm getting higher and higher... Closer to my dreams! The name and music of neo-soul singer Goapele (pronounced Gwa-puh-lay) may be foreign to some but many have at least heard her song Closer. Nearly 10 years old (pointed out by the singer herself), this song is a timeless, classic. When I heard she was hitting up our city, I couldn't wait to buy tickets and hear her sing it. The show was slated for 9:30 pm but my homie KJ and I found ourselves waiting patiently for almost two hours before Goapele was finally ushered into the venue. Once there I think she indulged in some grub so we waited a short while longer. Thank God for good opening acts and a shared bottle of Moscato! We had great seats, so we got a view of Goapele as she scrambled to a separate lounge area at the front of the club. I immediately remarked on how beautiful and petite she was. She wore spandex-like pants, a jacket of similar material with faux fur around the collar and some super-high, sparkly, strapless, stilettos. She would have made my designer-friend Arthlene very proud but I was wondering- how long is she going to be able to stand AND sing in those?  I like fashion but I prefer comfort and should I ever fulfill my dream of being a jazz/lounge singer, I may be wearing hush puppies, but NOT crocs (insider). LOL! Oh! And did I mention her hair? Goapele had dreads when I first discovered her in 2004. But on this night she wore a glamorous, braided updo. Truly, she looked stellar!

But I digress- let's get back to the business of Goapele’s performance! When Goapele took the mic, the crowd was very hushed. I- however was pumped and couldn't wait! She opened her set with First Love from her second release, Change It All. Released in 2005, Change It All was a laid back cd. Awesome and mellow, I often heard it from start to finish in local poetry houses. I remembered instant remembered First Love and sang along like it was yesterday. She smiled at me and I sang back to her. Later, she remarked that she enjoyed people singing along with her and I was encouraged to oblige! I think KJ and I were among the few who actually KNEW any of her music. We both own her two cds. But besides us, very few sang along. That seemed a shame really… I’ll come back to this. Amongst other songs, Goapele also sang Love Me Right from the same cd. It was very upbeat and funky with an old Motown vibe and people began dancing in their seats. Her energy and smile were magnetic. She appreciated the local musicians who supported her set. At times she crouched and just watched them jam her music. I found myself wishing the lot of them would catch a break and end up on the road with her. Fingers crossed for you guys! As the show progressed Goapele sang three or four songs from her new cd, including recent release Milk and Honey. It was well received and I can't wait to go cop it.

Goapele is smart. During the show she realized two things. First, the crowd didn't really know her work AND second, she needed to keep them engaged. To manage this, she sang familiar songs by other artists to get the crowd involved. One of them- Nothing Compares to You (Prince, Sinead O’Connor for some of you). I often think- smooth and/or mellow when I listen to Goapele. But the girl can SANG. Not studio sing. But sing, for real, without help from runs or fancy acrobatics. Her voice was pure, strong, soulful and just all around - DOPE! I looked around and the crowd was finally on board! By the time Goapele got to Closer, the crowd was ready. She asked everyone to get up and dance and they did. More sang along. As the night progressed, she shared other new material. I don’t recall the titles but I liked each song. Time passed quickly and before I knew it, she was saying good night. I looked at my watch. It was barely midnight. I wanted more, but alas there was none. Overall, she gave a short (50 minutes) but great performance and set. She posed for photos afterward with those interested (including yours truly but not KJ) and that my friends’ was the end.

At some point Goapele remarked that she wasn't used to the quiet. Quiet equals NO ENERGY. I recognize that artists need that and that’s something we can work on in Columbus. I just hope that going forward, crowds are at least familiar with other artists so that in the future they won't be sitting there with a blank stare when they come to our city. I sometimes felt like I was surrounded by the Mii’s in my Wii system. Blink. LOL! Seriously though- we need to offer more than a polite clap after they wrap a heart-felt song! Truly, we want them to come but we simply must give them reason to return!

Supporting venues like Vonn Jazz is important on so many levels. We usually have to go to Cleveland or Cincinnati to hear talent like Goapele. This is very sad when you consider Columbus is the capital! Locally, we must support with our dollars, with our enthusiasm and by getting to know the artists material. Still, if I’m honest, the fact that Goapele started at almost 11pm was partially to blame for the lack of audience participation. When you sit for a long time, you begin to lose some of the zeal you had when you arrived. I'm not sure who was to blame for that bit of business (bad business) but if people to see a 9:30 show- that's when the show should start. I’ll even give you ½ hour.

On a happier note, I'm looking forward to more acts in the soul music line-up at Vons’s. Next up for me is independent artist, Amel Larrieux formerly of Groove Theory and currently an artist with Bliss Life Records. I’m a long time fan and she is amongst my top 3 singers. We are going with a much bigger group to celebrate my girl KJs birthday. When Amel comes, my friends and I will be some sang’in fools! We’ve already composed our wish lists for songs we hope she performs!

Finally I want to give a shout out to the local musicians who opened for Goapele, namely Adria Archie, C-Sharp and those who accompanied her- Next Level. They were all dope. Get out there and support your local artists’ people! They’re definitely ear-worthy!

Check out the pics! The first is grainy because she was getting flashed so much, I turned mine off. I just noticed in the second pic that not only are we both natural, but we both have dimples! Word.

This is Lboogie com'in at cha! ~Peace!