The new ink!

It is the nyame nti symbol which means "by God" (Since God exists)or having faith and trust in Gods blessings. Depicts leaves on its stalk. Prov. "Nyame Nti, menwe wura.' (Since God exists, I will not feed on leaves.)
This sucka was an experience. I can't say it was painful, it was mainly a weird vibration pressure that made me feel like my brain was shaking and its still kinda feeling like that now LOL
I had some ideas for some more ink this morning but after feeling this bad boy I don't know when I will get more. I need to get something on the left side of my body. All four of my currant tattoos are on the right side.

Japanese Cast Iron Teapot

I'm in love with these things and I recently mentioned that I wanted to get one for myself in Amina's Shoutbox, so she asked to see a pic! These pots can be used for both kinds of tea. (bag or loose) There is a little strainer/filter(bottom picture shows it) that sits in the opening where you put your loose tea in than you pour hot water on top.  From what I know you don't put this pot directly on the stove, but having the cast iron exterior makes it excellant at preserving heat.   I had the pleasure of eating at a restuarant called the Rice Bowl in Ocean City and this is the kind of pot that they serve your tea in.  They are very heavy!!!

Yup so this is one of my presents to myself once I get a J.O.B.  Hopefully So Ceylon will wait for me too.LOL

Progress on the Kasia #2

Well it fit folks!!!!!
Alls I gotta do now is attach the lining and hem it.
I want to make this again but I think a heavier weight fabric would do better.

Kasia In Progress

I haven't done many sewing updates on the blog as of late, but I have been working on this baby here and there.

I downloaded the pattern for free at BurdaStyle but you will have to tape about 20 pages of standard paper together or you could have some of the patterns printed out at a place like Kinko's. This isn't really the color I wanted but nothing else in my stash seemed to scream to be made into this skirt.
Three of the 6 buttons have been put on. That last bottom left button hole gave me a run for my money. I wish I had taken a picture of the pretty catapiller my sewing machine made because that is exactly what all that tangled up bobbin thread looked like.
Back of the skirt to the left and the front on the right. I have tried to construct this skirt "flat" as much as possible. So the zipper and all the waistbands have been attached before closing the side seams. I have made a lining for it as this is a very thin poly blend something or other that I'm not sure what it is made from because I am a bad fabric buyer and do not make those vital notes for myself :)Picture of the sailor flap and those lovely button holes. Regular ole el cheapo black ploy 1.99 lining I'm sure. I wish I remembered what I pay for the material. The buttons were three dollars for six.
Hopefully
Hopefully
Hopefully
And please keep the fingers crossed that
A) I'll be finished tomorrow
B) It fits
LOL!!!

Soooooooo close....but maybe still far away!

This is one time that I am very grateful to live in Maryland.......just kissing DC! 295 is practically right outside my window and it takes me no more than a half an hour to get to DC from my house.
I think the next day I went on my local senators website to put my name down for a ticket to the inauguration. I have received two email responses to my request. The first one just said they would let my know my status the closer we get to January. This is the second one:


THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA WILL BE A HISTORIC EVENT



Dear Shawnta:



Thank you for contacting my office about tickets to the Inauguration. January 20, 2009 will be a historic event as millions of Marylanders - and Americans across the country - witness the Inauguration of Barack Obama as President and Joseph Biden as Vice President of the United States . Because of our close proximity to our Nation's Capital, requests to Maryland Congressional offices for free tickets to the swearing-in ceremony have been astronomical. To date, my office has received nearly 55,000 individual requests for tickets.



As you can imagine, the requests for tickets far exceed the availability. It is expected that each Senate and House offices will have less than 400 tickets to distribute and those will be primarily for standing areas on the National Mall.



For those who have requested tickets from my office, your name will be entered into a random drawing. I will contact everyone who has requested tickets via e-mail sometime in January updating you about ticket availability. I also will continue to send updates about Inaugural events as information becomes available.



For those who do not receive congressional tickets to the Inauguration, sections of the National Mall and Inaugural Parade route will be open to the public and will not require tickets. We expect that large-screen televisions and audio speakers will be placed throughout the Mall so that as many people as possible can hear and see this historic event. Also, please keep in mind that if the weather is inclement, the outdoor Inaugural events may be cancelled and the swearing-in ceremony will take place inside the U.S. Capitol with only family members of the President-elect and Vice President-elect, members of Congress, members of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other officials in attendance.



A word of caution: We all have seen recent media reports about people selling tickets over the Internet. I want to remind everyone that tickets to the swearing-in ceremony are free and will primarily be distributed by congressional offices. No tickets to the swearing-in ceremony are available yet and they will not be distributed before mid-January. Anyone who claims to have tickets to the swearing-in for sale is not being truthful. In addition, eBay has banned the sale of swearing-in ceremony tickets on its websites, including eBay, StubHub and Kijiji.



The President-elect also will form a Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), which will be responsible for all balls, galas, receptions, parties and the official Inaugural Day parade. Ticket requests for these events should be directed to the PIC. Its website is: http://www.change.gov/learn/inauguration/ . Information on these events will be updated by the PIC as it becomes available.



Whether you are able to attend the swearing-in ceremony in person or whether you watch it on TV with family and friends, this will be a historic experience for all Americans and for our nation.



Sincerely,





Senator Benjamin L. Cardin

Why did he even have to bring up the possibility of inclement weather? :(

I don't care!

I don't mind just going to be around all those excited people about this administration. 

Even if I'm watching it on a big ass screen in the freezing cold! 

B when are we having the inauguration party cuzzo?

Why? #1

Sometimes things just make me say why? At times they are deep ponderings and at other times they are more superficial for instance:

Why does MAC send you an email basically giving you a count down on how long there will be free shipping on the site (only 24 hours left or only 12 hours left) when those hussies know that they are gonna release something else the next day and the free shipping will be back on?

Why MAC? Why the urgency?

Another thing for the why files. 

 Why did I do this? 

Cause I'm a sucka that's why. :)

The white stripy one likes my locs.  He thinks they are his personal dangling toys.   

A year ago today I started this blog!

Y'all know me and my oldies!!!!!!

Yes people it has been a year!

 
A year ago I didn't have my BFF Canon so y'all had to deal with crappy cell phone pictures until Christmas.
A year ago I was complaining about not having enough time.....why am I  still complaining about that *sigh*  
One of my favorite pictures of myself that is like my avatar errrrry where made it's debut in this post
Brooklyn was singing!

Miss Madisyn was being her usual quiet subdued self.

Thanks Kia for the idea.

Now in this year time I have truely met some wonderful people. 

Isn't that picture a hoot!!

Some of the nicest and sweetiest people that are in my life right now are because of this blog.  

To all those cool people that are in other states, I can't wait til we can meet too.

All the lurkers come on out and say howdy!

I should do a blog-aversary look today.......hmmmm we'll see!

Love ya Mean it!!!

EDITED to add this pic from a year ago.  It was causing all kinds of ruckus when I was trying to get it to show in the post before with the html coding.  This was my first MAC makeover in forever and the first EOTD that I posted.  It featured Seedy Pearl, Hepcat, and Sketch.

Ummmmsowhendoigetthejob FOTD #3

Yeah so um no job yet. :(

At 2:37 

2:37 people I get a phone call.

Right when I'm about to head out the door to pick up the girls from school.

After I had been basically sleep all day recovering from being up til 2:30 with Barackitis and a sore shouldar.

I get a phone call.....but not the "Hey Shawnta you got the job" call.

No

It's the can you bring up some more information call.

GRRRRRRR!

So I'm dressed in my jeans, my South Beach Shirt, and a big ole puffy coat cause the SB shirt has short sleeves.  Since they haven't hired me yet I still want to make a good impression so I slap on some dress pants and boats, put on a dressier trench coat, and throw this look together all by 3:00PM.  This FOTD should make it into the Go Mommy Go files huh Kia? :)

Eyes

UDPP

MAC tete-a-tint on lid and browbone

Matte mid toned brown in Milani Dream Baby Quad on crease

MAC Spiced Chocolate on crease and outer v

Jordana Brown Pencil Eyeliner

Loreal Volumnious Mascara

*I always leave out the liner and mascara on my discriptions*

11/4/08 FOTD Purples

Here is the look I did on tuesday when we went out to vote.   Might be a little much for daytime but hell all I was going to do was Barack-the-vote and go home anyway.  I tried out the MAC Mauvism paint that I got at the CCO awhile back and boy did it give me a fit.  It flaked something terrible during the application of the other shadows!  Suzie thinks I probably started off with too much.  I will give it one more chance, but for now I like my Nice Vice  paint pot for my purple bases.

Eyes

UDPP

MAC Mauvism Paint

Satisfy from Cool Eyes Palette on Browbone

Cavort from Cool Eyes Palette on lid

Mid tone matte brown from Milani Quad Dream Baby in crease

Deep Feelings from Cool Eyes Palette on crease and outer v

I do for you!!!!!!

Look at these faces......don't they deserve something different and better then what we had the past 8 years???!!

YES WE CAN!!!

So the plan was to wake up early in the morning and take the girls to vote, but early wasn't happening today. We got there about 11am and had to wait outside for maybe 10 minutes at the most, then another 5 minute wait on the inside. Brooklyn decided to act like a baby and wanted to be picked up so I asked Madisyn to hold my drivers license for me but I didn't even need it! I let Madisyn push the screen for Obama and Biden.
Yesterday my dad told me that he wished his dad was still alive to see this day. He said my grandfather had this saying 'like a N**G*R at an election' that his guess was to mean somebody out of place. Growing up in West Virginia was rough. My dad was the only black kid in a lot of things. His middle name is Coy and growing up the white kids use to say 'Coy Coy the N*g*er* boy' to tease him. A lot of us young folxs have not experienced a fraction of what what our parents or grandparents had to go through coming up in a nation where skin color means so damn much.
I have seen some video of interviews of some white Americans, and their view of Obama sickens me. Because it isn't just him that they feel this way about. After being around us for over 400 years, they have not come to realize that we are a human just like them, just as intelligent and capable as the next man. If Obama was a white man whould'nt they all love him? Intellegent, an excellent speaker, appears to have upstanding morals since I have yet to see a sex tape or some illegal drugs pop out of the woodwork, married to the same woman for years( a very intelligent woman I might add), two beautiful children.......and that is just if you are looking at character. The issues of this country will take more than one man to fix. I am not delusional about that, nor am I naive to who has the real power here, but isn't it time for something different? I pray that the ignorance I have seen is a small precentage of the population.
I have not allowed myself to get all pumped up about this before, but for some reason if he wins....that Yes We Can, will really resound in my day to day life. Surely if this man can beat all the odds, rise above the hate, truely make Americans believe again.......I, Shawnta can believe that I can achieve all my dreams........
Start dreaming folks, cause YES WE CAN!

BCA Favorite Pink Things Tag!

I was tagged by the lovely Kia of Yummy411 to show my favorite pink things for Breast Cancer Awareness month. I know I'm late but cancer doesn't sleep and us females need to be doing our monthly self exams anyway so every month is BCA to me. On to the items.....I have a lot of PINK!!!

Some of my Pink Earrings

Some of My Pink Glosses

Mac Sugar Trance, NYX French Kiss, Avon Tahitian Holiday liquid lip balm, Milani LottaLip in Sweet Nothing.

Blushes:

Jane in Blushing Petal, and MAC's Hipness

7 Face: Sparkle

This is a very shiny reflective pink thus the glare and it looking very purple, but this was one of the first things I ever brought from a fellow Specktranite! It has some of my most favoritest eyeshadows: Beauty Marked, Honeylust, and Showstopper

Of course no post on Pink would be complete with a picture of Petticoat and that is the Coastal Scents pink handle 187 dupe that Suzie didn't care for but was so nice to give it to me. I've only used it for Petticoat so we are getting along so far.

One of my favorite Pink/Purple looks:



Here is the link to the original post but the main shadows were MAC sushi flower, beauty mark, and hepcat. I've added a few pinks to my collection....I'm def due for another pink look.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Momma Saving the Day

With the help of my friend Shannon. After three trips out Owings Mills with still no resolution with this job thing momma's wallet had moths coming out of it.....especially for something that is only going to be worn one day. I broke the news to them on Thursday that they would have to wear their uniforms to school instead of a costume and they were like "well we don't want to go"
Ackkk
I can understand that cause you don't want to be the odd one out, and I hate for my kids to have to feel the effects of momma being crazy. So I called my friend Shannon who's mommy is a nurse that had some scrubs that she couldn't wear anymore because the hospital has decided on one color combo. So I cut up two size large scrubs and sewed them up to make them fit a 5 and 7 year old! Madisyn's was the first one I did so of course I messed it up a lil bit and made it too short but overall I think they looked cute and they were able to go to school. Brooklyn still has her's on actually LOL!
I volunteered at the school and helped them take pictures of all the classes and helped out with the "pumpkin patch" At the girls school they bring the pumkins to them instead of going out to a farm. They had two hundred pumpkins and the sweetest apples I have ever tasted.


In other news did y'all get that blood and crips initiation text or email that they had to kill 31 woman on Halloween? One woman actually said "I got a coworker at who's cousin's son is a crip and he said it was true!" *Sigh* I don't understand the satisfaction people get out of scaring the hell out of people. I know people do some crazy things and Halloween is a day that I do exercise a bit of caution on regardless but you don't know how many times I was told "make sure you go straight home". I have the philosophy that if its my time to go and much I can do about it and just live this lil time I have on this spinning planet to fullest. But in honor of all those forwards and warnings I dug this funny email up and thought I would share.


If you ever receive tons of emails from well meaning friends to save your soul by sending prayers straight from the heavens or warnings food, perfumes and urban myths, you may appreciate this.

Thanks For your Concern,

I want to thank all you who have taken the time and trouble to send me your email forwards over the past few YEARS. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed and wealthy.

Because of your concern.......

I no longer drink coca cola because it can remove stains from toilets.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the owners are atheists and refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran Wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

I do not check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with an infected needle.

I no longer use "cancer causing" deodorant even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a chloroform laced perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get the bill from hel* with calls from Jamaica, Uganda and Uzbebekistan.

I no longer eat pre-packaged foods teeming with hormones that will cause my private parts to shrivel up.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant creatures with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer go to bars because someone will drug me and take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.

Thanks to you, I now know that God only answers my prayers if I forward an email to 12 of my friends, do 5 jumping jacks and make a wish within 5 minutes.

I no longer have any money because have been sending it to a sick girl who has been sick for the past 7 years.
but that will change once I receive the 15k that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email program !

I will now return the favor......

If you do not send this email to at least 1200 people in the next 60 seconds, a large bird with flaming diarrhea will fly over your head and the fleas of a thousand camels will infest your armpit. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of a friend of a friend's neighbor's cousin, and he's a lawyer.

Have a Nice Day!
LMAO!!! This makes me bust out laughing everytime!

Interview #2 FOTD

Yes people I had another interview with the place that I'm really liking but alas still no final decision! :( They said they should be getting in contact with me on Monday. Anywhoo here is the the look I did on Thursday.
Remember Fafi?

A billion collections ago....

Yeah well that was the star of this look. So everything is the same as the day before but change the lid color to Hey (which by the way is what I would think Nanogold should be LOL) and Howzat for the crease and outer v (you know the grayish bluish color). The lips is a combo of MAC lip glass Triffle which was a recent CCO find and Rich and Ripe lip glass from CoC. I think that is what it is called. I'm too lazy to look right now.







Doesn't look like much in the pictures. Terrible yellow day. This one I took earlier in the day then the one from Wednesday.