Day 8 - A moment

This is one of the days I did not know what to write. Even as I am writing this, I am debating what moment to write about. Seeing that I will be 40 in less than 6 months, I seen over 1,245,672,000 moments. How do you pick 1 moment from over 1.2 million of them? What moment is worthy? Do I choose a life changing moment?

Since I really don't want to agonize over just one moment, then I will list different moments that sticks out in my mind. Who knows? One or a few of them many turn into a post of its own. Now they are random. Some are funny moments, some are life changing moments, others made me sit back and ponder for awhile. Then they are others that are foggy in my mind but I know just talking to a someone will rush the moment back to the forefront.


Revisited Moments in My Mind (which are really a bunch of true moments stranded together)

• Graduating from college
• Knowing then confirming I was pregnant
• Morris Brown Days (way too many to list individually)
• Call in college my dad was in the hospital
• The last real daddy/daughter talk with my dad
• Call in college my mom was in the hospital 
• My sister leaving Atlanta to move back home
• My niece returning to Atlanta to live with me
• Shipping her tail back to her momma
• Performing as the only child in the Adult Dance Troupe at Karamu House for Pastor's Appreciation
• Prom Night
• Many Saturdays at Joe's Square Deal
• My first kiss
• My first home purchase
• My second home purchase
• The reasons/push for each purchase
• Pledging Delta
• Pledging Alpha Sweetheart
• Riding the Greyhound to college
• Going home every month my 1st semester in college
• My 1st college boyfriend (most people don't know about that one)
• My college sweetheart (now co-parent partner)
• Football games in the Dome
• Paying off my credit cards 
• Buying my first car 
• Buying my first car cash only
• Baby Bandit's car crash
• Baby Bandit's concussion, 3 sets of stitches, and rush to the hospital from a midair collision during basketball practice.
• Picking Baby Bandit's godmother
• Carpooling (great conversations) 
• Falling off the jungle gym at nursery school (now called day care)
• Teaching
• Book club meetings
• Retreats
• Cruising with my family
• San Diego

I could keep going, but I think you get the idea. There are so many moments that picking just one is way too hard! 

In case I don't post tomorrow. Have a safe New Year's Eve! 

Day 7 - My Best Friend

Once again I am tempted to just link a previous post such as Supportive Friends. It talks about different friends and groups of friends, including my best friend from childhood. As an adult, I have never had a best friend. Part of the reason is because I am a person who rarely have a favorite this or best that. I like different things for different reasons; therefore, I don't have them. This is so true for friends. I am honest enough to admit various people have different purposes/reasons/meanings in one's life. For instance, I am a confidant for some, a ear and shoulder for others, a counselor, a bank, and a teacher. Depending on the the person, my role changes and vice versa.

So with that in mind. I will talk about my best friend for childhood, Melita Monique. HA! She is going to kill me for putting her government name out into the cyber world. She has gone by Nikki practically all her life. I remember her changing the spelling of her name several times but the last time was to fit into the Roxanne song when she says...The R-O-X-A-N-N-E, Roxanne is who I be. Neickkie changed her spelling and would rap her name instead of Roxanne's. Hilarious.

The following is red has been copied and pasted from Supportive Friends.

Twin - We have been friends since childhood. We were in Catholic schools together and enjoyed some many memories. She has all of my teenage secrets and know where all the bodies are buried...LOL. She has been there through many firsts - 1st basketball team, 1st boyfriend, 1st drink, 1st car, 1st heartbreak, 1st home, 1st curfew violation, and some many things I am not revealing in black and white! We did almost everything together as teenagers! Since my sisters were younger, Twin was my sister! We were together so much she had her own room at my house! However, most of the time we were in the same room. 

I can't remember when we started calling each other "Twin" but we had our stories down pack! We are 18 days apart. SO we said we were 18 minutes apart. When people ask why we did not look alike. We told the truth on that one. I said, "I look like my Daddy!" and she will say, "I look like my Momma!" LOL! That was the truth!!

I remember getting into bars and lying about our age. I think that was the only time I lied about my age. One time, the bouncer/person at the door tried to catch us. We had memorized my aunt's DOB to get into the bar when we were 18. We went in without a purse because if you have a purse, then you should have ID.  Always thinking it through. So the man at the door asked for ID.  I told him we left it in the car with our purses. He asked us to go get it. Then I said, if my twin and I go back to the car, we will get in the car to go to the bar down the street. That got him thinking. He asked what was our birthdays. I said Oct 25 and gave whatever year got us in to the bar. We always had to change the year depending on the club age requirements. Then he looked at Neickkie and asked her when was her birthday. I went off. LOL! I said if she is my twin wouldn't she have the same birthday?! If this is the caliber of guys in here, we definitely need to go to another bar. LOL!!!! I was a mess! He let us in with no problem. He kept apologizing!

I remember a time when we got into so much trouble in 9th grade. The school had us seeing the counselor once a week. We would sit and plot the stories we were going to tell her. Our "troubled ways" were being talkative and opinionated. The school was not use to little Black girls not being afraid to express ourselves anytime we felt the need. The funny thing is our "troubled ways" only caused us to get an occasional detention. We were never suspended or even being expelled. Today's teachers would love for us to be their biggest problem. Academically, I was at the top of the class. I was 1 of only 2 Black students in all honor classes and was an A student. I just very talkative and hated wearing regular shoes with the uniforms. I thought my tennis shoes were quite appropriate with the green uniform skirt!  

We don't see or talk to each other nearly as much as we want to. But when we do, it is as if we never missed a beat! Every time I go home, we talk for hours like teenagers again. Even though we live hundreds of miles apart and do not get to see each other nearly as much as we want, she is never far from my heart.

Day 6 - My Day

Since today is going to be a DHS grading papers and finalizing semester grades day (in between me playing on Twitter and Facebook), I will share what I did Monday (two days ago). I really don't like writing about my  day. It is not much different from the next person. Now, let me try to make it interesting.

Monday started my 2nd week of vacation! Boy do I need the down time to recharge! Baby Bandit's Nana, daddy, and cousin was in town. Nana loves shopping in Atlanta. So I knew we were going to hit somebody's store!

Before we hit the streets, I made a quick breakfast for everyone. Then got everyone on their separate ways. The boys left with Baby Bandit's sister to celebrate her birthday at Dave and Buster's. Nana and I hit the stores without ever going into the malls. First stop was at the shoe store to buy her Christmas present. The same heels I bought myself a few days before. Baby Bandit and my other "sons" have ban me from wearing them. I already have 2 days I KNOW I am going to wear them.

Our next stop was a beauty supply store. We went to this same one when she visited a few months ago. I don't even remember why we went in there. She is THE beautician in her town. Ironically, she did not get any products for shop. She was amazed how big it was and all the wonderful things that are in it. LOL You know how the A do. They sold everything ---hair products, weaves, wigs, hair accessories, jewelry, clothes, shoes, and make-up. You name it, it was probably in it! Nana bought three wigs. Its not like she needs them. She is just tired of her own hair. She has grown it down to the bottom of her back. I saw a few wigs I would love to sport but I need to learn how to pull/lay down this puffy stuff on top of my head.

After we left there, we hit Dots and TJ Maxx and found some deals on sweaters, shirts, jackets, and jeans. By that time, we were hungry and we were meeting some of my favorite teenagers back at the house to watch the game and hang out playing games! Next stop, the grocery store and home.

Nana fried us some more chicken. While she was doing that, I went to pick up my babies, Baby Boy and Little Girl. The boys were meeting us back at the house about the same time. While watching the Falcons game, we ate like starving ninjas. Nana had fried chicken, collards, cabbage, mac and cheese, dressing, yams,  and Mexican corn bread.

The Falcons was getting their behinds handed to them. Since I am not a true Falcons fan, I could care less about watching the game. We were suppose to play Just Dance 3 just during halftime. But once we got into it, it was after 1 o'clock when we finished. My boys are super competitive. As soon as I get a high score, the others could not sit down until they got it. The girls hold their own. I had a house full - Baby Bandit, J. Watt, Kourt, Kebren, Zee, and Baby Boy. It felt just like home. We even got the grown folks up doing the line dances. Y'all know what I am talking about- Wobble, Electric Slide, Cha Cha Slide, etc. We even film some of it. I don't think we have pictures of them from dancing but we did a ball that night!

Day 5 - My definition of Love

I am really trying to resist not writing anything and just linking the other post from the Summer on 9 Loves. In that post, I gave definitions of love and listed people and things I love. Feel free to click on the link above if you are interested in reading it.

In my opinion, love is a noun and action verb. It is something you have and something you do. There is more to love than just the romantic love we see in movies.

Love the noun - A quick definition is a strong, deep affection for someone or something.


Some of the the people and things I love

• My son
• The rest of my family
• My son's other side of the family. Just because his dad and I did not work out does not mean I stop loving his family. 
• My Atlanta family (too many to name but you all know if I share my son and/or my home with you then I am talking about you!)
• Some of my students commonly known as my other babies. I would name them but some feelings may get hurt if they knew I love some and others I just like. 
• My Sorors
• Morris Brown and my Brownite family
• Supportive Friends
• Food
• Reaching my goals
• Seeing others reach goals and/or overcome situations
• Love! Yes I love love
• Watching drama on tv but HATE it in my life

Love the verb - Actions showing or expressing one's deep affection and connection.

Some ways to show love

• Holding hands
• Just being together doing nothing but having fun anyway
• Doing something for someone else that will ease their burden
• Doing something for someone even if you don't want to do it
• Being honest with someone for their own good even if they will be hurt for a minute
• Sacrificing for someone
• Doing the little things at might not matter to most but does to the one person you are showing love to
• Knowing someone's Love Language and operating in it. 

For those of you who are having difficulties showing love, I have some free advice. Learn how to listen. The person you love tell you all the time how to love him or her. What do they like? How do you feel love? Do those things. Google it. I am sure there are many "How to Love" articles on the web. Ask them. 

All in all. I am a hopeless romantic. So I loooovvvveeee seeing it being displayed on any level- romantic, parent/child, friends, relatives. It just make me feel all warm and fuzzy in the inside! 

Day 4 - What I Ate Today

Unless this post is done late at night, you can not honestly say everything you ate that day. Well, at least I can't. I am always going back into the kitchen to snack on whatever I see. So I will give you what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast:
bacon, polish sausage, cheese eggs, and toast

Lunch: nothing (late breakfast)

Dinner: fried chicken, cabbage, collard greens, mac and cheese, yams, dressing, Mexican corn bread, and lemon danish

Today I have been way beyond lazy. I have no intentions of cooking anything. I only ate junk today. I had a chocolate chip muffin, a danish with cream cheese icing, and lemon danish. I plan to warm up the veggies left from yesterday to eat in a few.

That's all for me....Quick and easy!!!

Day 3 - My parents

I was born to.....

Starting the post like that seem so......boring and predictable. Unfortunately, I am at a lost of words on a creative way of starting it. So......here goes.....

Like many people, I have lost one of my parents. My dad passed away when I was a sophomore in college. That particular semester was very hard for me. Literally, every month in that semester both of my parents spent time in the hospital. I even contemplating leaving school and losing my scholarship just to go home to help. My mother was not having it! When I talked to my aunt about what I was planning to do, she told me that she had that conversation with my mother already. They had made contingency plans which did not include me leaving school. Both of them guilt trip me into staying. I am glad they did!

According to my mom, I was a Daddy's girl when I was really little. (My sister right after me took that role right from me.) I remember my mom telling me when I was a teenager when she wanted a "Me Day", she would start an argument with my dad. He would leave with me in tow. We were out the whole day! I love those days. We would visit so many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I came from a large family, so it was not hard to be gone all day.

As I got a little older, we would go on long bike rides. I was on my ten speed and he was on his supped up one. My dad rigged his to have a radio and a make shift padding section on the back of it. On the bar, he had several towels wrapped around it. Both served as "seats" for my sister, Psycho, so she had options when we went riding.  Literally, we were gone for at least four hours. We did not ride continuously, but we were all over the place visiting people, stopping at parks, the aquarium, and Lake Erie. When I go home, it is not unusual for me to drive by some of our old spots. I have taken Baby-Bandit pass some of the spots. I have even shared sitting at the lake with him and a few friends watching the sunset one time.

I remember my dad waking me up in the wee hours of the morning. He had just came in from a party. Apparently, he had grabbed a plate out of the drain that was not clean to his satisfaction. We (meaning he) had many conversations about washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. So this particular night (early morning), he pulled out every dish in alllllllll the cabinets and made me wash all of them over again. I am talking about EVERY DISH  in the whole house. To add insult to injury, he stayed in the kitchen and talked to me the whole time. Just say I tuned dude out! All I wanted to do was yell, "WILL YOU SHUT UP! CAN YOU JUST GO BACK TO WHEREVER YOU JUST CAME IN FROM". But since I value my life, all that plus more were said all in my head!

When I think about my dad, I think about the conversations we had throughout the years. At random times, our conversations or time spent pops up in my head and put a smile on my face.


Fortunately for me, my mom is still here. I really wished she would move to my city. I almost had her here a few years ago, but life situations has changed her mind. I understand, even though I don't like it (as I pout every time I think about it).

My mom reminds me of my grandmother so much. I don't think I have told her how much I love and admire her for the love and sacrifice she has made over the years for us. When I was in the third grade, my mom was working at my aunt's cleaners. With three children, she knew she needed more income to raise us. She decided to return to school and earn a nursing degree. Even though the hours were long and she had 3 daughters to provide for while in school, she did it. At the time I did not realize the lesson she was showing me through her actions. But like they say, you will understand when you get older. Now as a mother, I understand how one give up their time, money, sleep, and everything else for what you think is best for your child.

The following year, my mom enrolled me into Catholic school. The public school was in the midst of a strike and I was scheduled to attend school on the other side of town. She did not think that was the best option for me; therefore, she made the necessary adjustments to pay for Catholic school. I remained in Catholic school until the middle of my tenth grade year. Then my mother finally left my father and moved us to the suburbs to a much better school system. By that time all 3 girls were in private school. So pulling us out was necessary to make ends meet. Our education did not suffer. In fact, I believe the curriculum were just a bit harder at the public school.

On a personal level, my mother never bad mouthed my dad to me. Even though I know what went down, she could have played the bitter Black woman role and dogged my day out to us. But she did not. She allowed us to come up with our own opinions of our dad. Now we know this is hard for anyone who were done wrong. Again this was another lesson I learned by example. I never talk negatively about my son's father to him or in his earshot. It is important to me to give him full access and allow them to develop their own relationship.

Even though my mother is not the oldest daughter in the family, I feel she has taken the matriarch role since my grandmother passing. About 5 years ago, she started having the Thanksgiving dinner at her home the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The dinner is huge! Up to 100 people have been to Thanksgiving dinner. It is my mom's siblings, children and grandchildren, her five children and families, her 1st cousins and their children and grandchildren and other "family" members such as our closest friends. Mom does all the cooking. She really does not want any helping because it is her way to show her love to her family. Here is a picture of just the desserts from this year's dinner.

With four daughters, you best believe there were many arguments. Mom is very good with letting us fight it out until it get out of hand. Then she steps in. Mom is real laid back until you hit that point. Got to love her for that!

I could go on but I have been working on this forever trying to give you a complete picture and realize it will never happen. My girl Oldgirl LadyLee has done many posts about my mom. I will leave some of the links. Lee always have a way to capture an experience!

New Year's 2010
Mama Bandit - Atlanta cookout

Day 2 - First Love

When I first read the challenge for today, I was not sure exactly what I wanted to share. When I did the other challenge, Day 2 also dealt with love. Instead of the first love it was on 9 Loves. I looked back at it to see what I listed as my 9 loves. I wanted to see if I wanted to write about any of those. I decided not to write about any of them.

So back to the drawing board. As I am typing I am still torn about which direction I want to go. I have 2 different ways I can go with this one. Let me ask you a few questions. When you think of your first love, do you think of a person? If so, when is it considered your first love? The first boyfriend you had way back in junior high school? The high school boyfriend? Is that puppy love? Does puppy love count? Hmmm If you say none of that count, then is it the college boyfriend? Or does it not count until you are grown and on your own?  I know too many questions! Now you see why I have been toying with what I wanted to write.

As we grow, we realize our love to love and what it means changes and deepens. I have what I considered my 1st boyfriend which is different than who my family considers my first boyfriend. During high school, I had 2 boyfriends. Even after we broke up, we remain friends. When I go home, I usually speak with them and even see them if schedules permit. During college, I had 2 boyfriends. (Now I know I just shocked many of the college friends with that one!) Again, I can pick up the phone and talk to either one. Well, I have to definitely talk to one since he is 1/2 responsible for Baby Bandit. LOL.

So with all this talk, I still have not talked about MY FIRST LOVE.

My first love is actually not a person but a thing. I fell in love with dancing at the age of 8. My mom wanted me to have something to do after school. The first year I took modern dance classes on Wednesdays. I loved it! The next year she added piano. I think I only did it for a year maybe two. However, I stayed dancing until I left for college. You could not tell me I was not going to be the next Debbie Allen.

By the time I was 11, I was teaching my own class with lesson plans and evaluations required at the end of each session. In addition, I was taking classes on my own. During the summer, I would teach up to three different classes at multiple locations throughout the city. I was so dedicated that I would catch several buses to get to some of the locations. When I had to decided between dance and basketball, I gave up basketball in order to keep dancing.

During high school, I was good enough to dance with my church's adult dance troupe. I was the only teenager allowed to dance with them. It was definitely an honor! We performed several times including dancing at the Karamu House, a historic arts center and theatre.

Once I left for college, I stopped dancing. I remember telling people I use to dance but most did not believe how much I danced. My class college roommate, Chan, knew I danced but did not realized how much until I opened up a big bag with all of my old leotards and tights. I had them in all colors - black, white, blue, red, yellow, burgundy, etc. They were from several performances.

Even though dance is not a person. However, I do miss it. I want to slim down and pick it back up. Now I don't want to hear, just do it. Um....yeah right. All of this is not going in anybody's leotard! Never gonna happen, Captain!

Day 1 - Introducing The Green Eyed Bandit

Its funny doing an introduction. At this point, I have a few faithful readers and lurkers. Many who have read a few posts dedicated about me such as 20 Facts About Me and the 10 Day Challenge I did in June and July when I started this blog. However, I am sure I will write at least one thing you did not know for sure.

How did I get the name Green Eyed Bandit? You can thank LadyLee for the name. I have been a avid reader  and stalker of her blog for years. One day she was blogging about a day we spent together and gave me the name Green Eyed Bandit. I think the name is self-explanatory. Lee hate using government names. So all of us "characters" have internet names. She has even blogged about Baby Bandit (again Lee named him). I blogged about her here under Supportive Friends. 

The "About Me" section on here says, " Like most women, I have many hats: mother, daughter, sister, friend, soror, and teacher. I believe most of us describe ourselves based on who we are to others. This may be the easiest way to describe ourselves but it does not always cover exactly who you are. For the sake of trying to give you me in a slightly different way, I am going to use the "hats" I wear to reintroduce myself and maybe add a little something at the end.

Mother: If you have you know me in the real world or have followed me for a nano-second, then you know I am the proud parent of a teenager, Baby Bandit (named by Oldgirl LadyLee) or Man-Child as I like to call him. Being a mother is by far the hardest job ever but so worth it! As a mother, (well this mother) I know I am responsible for raising a respectful, productive member of society. Even though I have been a teacher for a few years, I have been his teacher since he entered this world!

Like most parents, I want him to have more and do more than I did as a child. Don't get it confused. He is not spoiled with material things. However, I try to give him experiences I think will make him a well rounded young man. He has participated in many sports over the years (soccer, t-ball, baseball, basketball, football, and track). Basketball and football has been the main staples for him. He is on his school's football, basketball, and track team. As much as he loves sports, he  is more of a smart kid. The boy learned how to play chess at 4 or 5 years old by hanging out at the barber shop with his dad. I still do not know how to play. He excels in math. Many think it is because his momma is a math teacher, but he is definitely much more advance than I was at that age. That joker took AP Stats as an elective in high school. Who does that?

As a single mother, I am not alone with raising him. I am NOT a baby momma. I DON'T do all the baby momma drama. I have a good relationship with his dad. There are no bad feelings because we did not work out. I keep him informed on everything that goes on with Man-Child good or bad. I call and email all schedules and give him total access to his son. When he collided with another player and was rushed to the hospital, his dad was the first call I made in route. In addition, I make sure my son keep in contact with both sides of the family. Coming from a big family, I know the importance of family. When nobody else get you, they do.

Outside of his dad, I have plenty of friends who makes deposits into my son. Because I am not a man, I can't raise him to be a man, but I can raise him to be a good person and give him a woman's perspective on things. Since I am not a man, his male raising is handled by his dad, his biological and adopted (sorors' husbands) uncles, this mentor, his coaches, male teachers, and some of my male friends. I truly believe it takes a village!

Daughter: I am the oldest child and oldest granddaughter on my maternal side of the family. I am the typical oldest daughter. Growing up, all the housecleaning and babysitting were my responsibilities. I had the younger two so much that I was mistaken for a teenage mom all the time! They were the best birth control ever! My mom is still living but my dad passed away when I was a sophomore in college. I try to visit with my mom at least twice a year. Many years we get three or four times a year. Thanksgiving is a must. I have to go home or else! The other tradition we started is for her to spend New Year's here with me. Some times that does not happen but we try. I try to make it home during the summer or spring break but not both.

Sister: At this point, I have lived more years in a different city from my siblings than in the same one. As the oldest, I try to set an example and encourage them with however and whenever they need it. They know I am not going to sugarcoat anything. Um....that is not in my DNA! Like all sisters, we fight and make up but you better not mess with them! I am not having it! One of them lived here for a year but left when I gave her some tough love. I wished she would have stayed and stuck it out. However, I am still proud of her. She is going back to school next month to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse (just like our momma).

The baby girl is relocating here next week. That is going to be interesting. She is spoiled rotten! This move will grow her up definitely. I keep telling people you are not grown until you make it on your own! I hope I can guide her (when needed) without us killing each other! I definitely looking forward to strengthening our bond and spending time with my nephew.

The sister right under me called me on not mentioning her. Even though I told her I was giving her more print on Day 11. She was not having it! We call her Psycho. I think the name is self-explanatory. Many people see pictures of one of us and mistaken one for the other. We don't think we look that much alike but we have gotten it since we were little. I few months ago I had a picture of my 3 sisters and many people thought she was me. My current FB profile picture is of the two of us. Several people asked me if we are twins. We are not. I am almost 4 years older than her. As children, I do not think she liked me very much. I was a pretty good girl. In her eyes, I was too good. I think she made every effort to do and be exactly the opposite of me. Since we became mature adults, we have grown closer even with the 700 miles separating us. I look forward to spending time with her every time I go home!

I just noticed Day 11 is about the siblings. SOOOOOOOOOOO I will stop here.

Soror: For those who don't know, I am a proud member of the best sorority in the world Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. I pledged at Morris Brown College, GZ chapter. As a soror, I look at these ladies as real sisters. We motivate each other, hang out, support each other goals, cry, laugh and just being an all around sister to each other. I love these ladies. Our children call us aunties. We are one big family. We are active in our communities; keeping the true meaning of Delta in the forefront.

Gamma Zeta Spring 95 - Probate Night

Supporting my LS Darcova at her Book Signing Party

GZ 2011 - Supporting our Sorors at St Mtn- Lithonia Step Show

Friend - Outside of my family and sorors, I still have a host of friends - female and male. For different people I am different things. If you think about it, we all have different roles with our friends. For some a am a confidant. They tell me their deepest feelings, share their worries and dreams. For others, I am the person they can just hang to do absolutely nothing. Then for others I am that dependable friend to do whatever they need me to do. If nothing else, I am a resource. If I can't do it or don't know the answer, I know someone to handle it.

Fellow teachers but more importantly friends

Book club sisters and friends enjoying a Sunday afternoon

Friends from all periods of life celebrating my birthday a couple of years ago -
Kim - childhood/neighborhood friend,
Eric- high school classmate
Rana - adult friendship/book club sister/FFF posse member
Katrina - Line sister 2 times over/college friend

Celebrating Kim's birthday 

Book Club sisters in San Diego

Teacher - I have officially been a teacher for 2 years but I feel like I have been a teacher my whole life. I taught dance classes from age 11 to 18, I was a math tutor in college, and I was the unofficial trainer at work for 2 different companies.

Becoming a teacher has been a lifelong dream. It just took me some time to get there. I am a high school math teacher. Currently, I am teaching ninth grade math. My students are hilarious. They keep me going all the time. I have developed more of a mother relationship with a good portion of them. I hear "Momma" all the time at school. I just finished earning my master's degree in Special Education. However, I don't think I will work exclusively with special education. Education has too much paperwork. Special education takes it to a whole 'nother level! Naw,  I am good. You can give me some of the inclusion kids to teach, but you can keep the extra paperwork!

I know I love teaching because I am literally at the school 10-14 hours a day. Outside of teaching, I tutor my Einsteins, support them in their extra curricular activities (sports, band, chorus, etc) and I keep trying to find creative ways for them to learn and pass not only my class but others. I have literally made some stay after school to work on homework because I know they will not get it done at home.

So that is it! I know it is long. Hopefully you made it through this mini-book and learned something new about me.

Blog Ideas

Like many bloggers, I have a hard time coming up with ideas. I blame that on me being a math major and teacher. I am not the creative type. Therefore, coming up with ideas is a struggle. I read other blogs and get ideas and keep an eye open on ideas. As mentioned in the last post, I am going to do the 30 Day Challenge.

This morning I came up with another idea to generate posts. Daily, I read a quote from the Napoleon Hill Foundation and Black Pearls for Parents: Meditations, Affirmations, and Inspirations for African-American Parents. I usually have enough thoughts to do a posting on one or both of them. I really liked this idea!

So I think I know have more writing material to last me for a minute. If you see me on twitter or FB and I have not posted, remind me I have prompts to get me started.

What do you do to get your writing started? As one of my readers, what would you like for me to discuss/blog about?

Blog Challenge

Part of the reason I don't blog often is because I don't know what to write about. Stuff that goes on does not seem newsworthy and I am not the creative writer who can reel the people in like some of my favorite bloggers. So I tend not to blog unless I make a concrete effort to make the time to do it.

Tonight, I started looking for blog ideas on the internet and did not like the ideas I was reading. So I changed gears and started reading some of my favorite bloggers. I stopped by Bayoucreole. She has been toying with a challenge for a few months now. It is a challenge that gives her readers a better glimpse of her. I decided to jump on the band wagon. even if it is waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy late. I saw it swarming around the internet this summer, but I knew doggone well I was not about to commit to posting daily. I suffer from self-diagnosis ADD. I get off task and bored with things quickly. If I can't get it done in my time frame, then I move on and may come back to it.

So in an effort to get posts generated and sharing who I am with my readers, I will do the 30 post challenge. I am not foolish to even think it will be a 30 day challenge. I will do well if I can get it done in 90 days. So sit back and enjoy getting to know The Green Eyed Bandit.

These are the topics that I’ll cover:

Day 01- Introduce yourself
Day 02 – Your first love
Day 03 – Your parents
Day 04 – What you ate today
Day 05 – Your definition of love
Day 06 – Your day
Day 07 – Your best friend
Day 08 – A moment
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Day 10 – What you wore today
Day 11 – Your siblings
Day 12 – What’s in your bag
Day 13 – This week
Day 14 – What you wore today
Day 15 – Your dreams
Day 16 – Your first kiss
Day 17 – Your favorite memory
Day 18 – Your favorite birthday
Day 19 – Something you regret
Day 20 – This month
Day 21 – Another moment
Day 22 – Something that upsets you
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – A first
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favorite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your aspirations
Day 30 – One last moment

I have covered a few of them when I did a 10 day challenge. However, I will follow the requests to these...I think. Its my blog, I have the right to change my mind! Um....Bayoucreole, please don't let me finish before you... :)

20 Facts About Me

I saw this tag on twitter and thought it would be a fun and quick post. I know it is similar to an earlier post, but here goes:

1. I am the oldest child.
2. I hold 4 licenses - teacher, realtor, insurance, and driver's license (LOL)
3. I want to live abroad for awhile.
4. I am a tomboy at heart but sometimes envy the girlie girls.
5. I love to get lost in a good book.
6. I love to WATCH drama NOT BE IN drama. Big difference!
7. I can't wait to feel like a grown up! I still have things I need to accomplish before I will feel that way.
8. I love learning from others, especially the down to earth people. They are just who they are and don't expect nothing in return.
9. I am a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and the Order of Eastern Star.
10. I have a special passion to help our Black boys navigate through this thing call Life. They have so many things stacked against them and they don't see it.
11. I have lived more years in the South than the North/Midwest but I still consider myself a Midwest girl.
12. I love watching football and basketball, but it has been burning me out the last few years.
13. I am the best girl friend (not girlfriend/woman) for many guys. I can talk sports trash with the best of them and don't really care about changing you. I accept you for all of your craziness and can still give you a woman's point of view.
14. I love seeing my friends reaching new goals! I take pride in knowing they did it. I love celebrating in their victories.
15. I am a teacher now, but I do not think it will be my last career choice.
16. I am motivated when people doubt what I can do, especially when I know I can do it.I
17. My love languages are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, and Acts of Service. They were all tied for 1st place.
18. I wanted to be a judge or a detective when I was a kid, but I did not have a desire to be a lawyer or police officer.
19. I am not a hair person.
20. I love brownies.