10 Tuesday Thoughts

1. I said I was going to do better. I know one day I will slow down and take the time to reflect AND write/type what I am feeling. ONE DAY. I love going back to read old blogs and remember what I was feeling at that time.

2. Someone tried to steal my Man-Child's identity. The crazy thing is I thought about telling him to run his credit about a month ago. Yesterday, I (meaning he) received a letter in the mail stating someone tried to file a tax return using his name. Well, obviously, the person wasn't that smart. They didn't use his correct government name. He will request all credit reports. This will be a great lesson on credit watching, credit building, and identity theft.

3. Its testing season in Georgia. Well I guess all over the country. This week is testing for my school. It is sure is different from testing in my old county. I am just going to leave it at that comment.

4. I need to get to writing my chapters in a book I am co-authoring with one of my college friends. We have already decided on the chapters of our book. We just need to write! This man has a great mind for money and business. We are writing a book geared to recent high school graduates and college students. When I get a goal, it is imperative for me to create a vision board to remind myself of my goals and dreams. Here is the vision board for the book.

5. Summer school and the next school year are heavily on my mind. I really want to see growth in the teachers I am coaching. This is by far the biggest impact and resource on our students. A great teacher can literally change or elevate the trajectory of a child. Of course I created a vision board for that as well!

6. I have a massive headache. This is the 2nd one in a week. I think its sinus related. I notice if I am not consistent with allergy medicine during this time of year, I have issues. This is the 1st year that my issues have been a headache though. It reminded me to take my medicine though! 

7. My guys have decided to spend the summer in Birmingham to work, workout, and take a class or two. They are entering their last full year of college. If I am honest, I feel some kind of way about it. I thought I would get to hang out with my guys this summer. I guess they are really (semi)grown. 

I know they don't look grown in this picture. They were clowning at their track meet that was local. I went and hung out with them for the day. 

8. The Detroit teachers had a blue out yesterday. They are protesting because their school district stated they ran out of money to pay them. I need to read more on this matter. I am confused how that happens. I know they have unions in the North as well. This is not good for all involved. 

9. I am in another challenge. Hopefully, I will be able to finish this one! Its 100 days of happiness. The premise is simple. We are responsible for our own happiness; therefore, we should find some happiness daily. Even when you are having a bad day, there is at least 1 thing that made you smile or brighten your day. Today is day 3. I am looking for the opportunity. 

10. Speaking of challenges, I need to get back posting my daily gratitude posts. I think I have NOT posted more than I have. Because I am a overcoming procrastinator and perfectionist, I don't post daily cause I don't have the right pictures or my words are not elaborate enough to post. I have to get pass my hangups and celebrate my friends while they are here. I like "giving flowers to the living."

Welp, that's it for now. Maybe I will post again before the month ends. 

Day 1 - 20 Random Facts about Me

I did a 20 Facts about Me in 2011. I did this one without looking at the it. I wanted to see if I selected different facts. Most of them are different. So you have almost 40 facts about me!

1. I am the oldest of 5 (4 girls and 1 boy)

2. I hold 3 licenses that can earn me an income (insurance, real estate, and teacher)3. I played basketball as a teenager4. I took dance classes for 10 years and taught for 7 years but can't dance regularly to save my life.
5. I am a procrastinator
6. I started a blog a few years ago but I do not write with any consistency.
7. I have 6 vision boards. One for teaching, becoming organized, becoming debt free, relationships, spirituality, physical (weight/hair/attire)
8. I many extra children. They are children from a blended family but from the extras children I have gained from teaching
9. I want to lose weight but I don't want to do the work. (I know I know)
10. I am a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 
11. I have never been married
12. I know my trips for the next 3 summers. 
13. I love reading especially self-help books. 
14. I am a proud member of Triple F Posse. It is my finance group. We meet monthly to discuss our finances and encourage each other.
15. I am a mother of a new college student. Can you say I need to figure out how to get a life?
16. I am in love with my Tivo. It is the best invention ever.
17. I am allergic to strawberries but I eat them anyway.
18. I am figuring out what I want to be when I grow up!
19. I am the oldest granddaughter on my maternal side. 
20. I am more committed to anything if others are depending on me.

Day 27 – My Favorite Place

I have been thinking hard about my favorite place. I was thinking of the exotic places I have visited or even local places I have visited. But if I am brutally honest, my favorite place in on my couch! It is sooooo comfortable. I fall asleep on it many of nights and never get up to go to my bed. I have had deep conversations with friends and love ones. It is definitely my companion when its time to watch tv or curl up with a good book!

I guess I need to get a life if I want to say some other place other than my couch is my favorite place.

Day 26 – My Fears

FEAR. We all heard it stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. I know fear and faith can't live in the same space. However, if we are real with one another, we all have fears. It is up to us if we overcome those fears.

I blogged about my fears last year in another challenge. I just reread what I post. My fears have not changed nor do I have any new fears. So its probably easier to post it here. I know a sign of laziness but it get me 1 post closer to finishing this challenge!

Day 25 – A First

For those who have followed me, you know I turned 40 a few weeks ago and is still celebrating for 2 more days. During that time, I plan to start doing some things I have never done and start doing others that I have done. I have created lasting memories and documented several of my activities.

I started the 40 day celebration with a first for me...pole dancing. It was a fun experience. However, I need to find some rhythm before I return! 

Another first for me in my celebration was belly dancing. My friends have truly indulged me with hanging with me. I had friends representing aspects of my life from elementary school to current colleagues. 

  

This birthday celebration was a first for me with new experiences and memories. I was able to have 40 days with 40 activities/outings. I have never gave real thought in creating a celebration until this year. I did not get everything in during that time. So I have a list of firsts I will finish later this year. 

Day 24 – Something that Made Me Cry

Something that Made Me Cry

Disclaimer : In effort to get through some of these posts, I am not worrying about giving you a good story. I am going to create a list when appropriate and keep it moving. IF you want me to expound on anything, leave me a comment and I will do it in the comments or a later post. 

• Someone close to me getting hurt
• Watching my Baby Bandit go through anything painful 
• Sad movie
• Moving song
• Heartbreak (yes I too have experience heartbreak)
• Anger
• Anxiety attacks
• Death of my dad and grandparents
• Seeing the pain in others

Day 22 - Something That Upsets Me

Like everyone else, there are quite a few things that upsets me. If I had to choose one thing, it would be a lie.  I know people say they are bothered by liars. BUT I REALLY HATE FOR SOMEONE TO LIE TO ME. I don't care how bad it is or how you think it will hurt my feelings, tell me the truth. Remember, whatever is done in the dark comes to light. So if you lie to me, then I am upset twice---one for whatever you lied about AND two for the lie itself.!

The Band-Aid analogy is a good way for me to explain it. Just rip it off fast. Meaning, I would rather you tell me instantly and let me deal with whatever negative emotion/reaction I am going to have. Versus pulling a little of the Band-Aid off at a time. Meaning telling me what you think I want to hear instead of the truth.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not asking you to be crass with what you are saying or doing. Just be honest. There is a way to say everything. Just find the best way to say it.

Oh, and if you really want to take me over, lie to me about something I specifically asked you. If I asked, then I have already prepared myself for the worst possible answer. It goes with my motto, "If you are man or woman enough to ask, then I am woman enough to tell you the truth."

So, for all those who did not know.....now you know! Don't lie to me!!!!!

Day 21 - Another Moment

I really not feeling these "moment" posts. Never really know what to write about. However, it did not take me weeks to figure out this one. One moment that stands out is the moment I realized an ex was literally draining me.   We had broken up about 6 months before but we did the normal checking on each other from time to time. We even talked about getting back together. For whatever reason, that did not happen.

A few weeks later, he called me about some mail from my son's school. The mail was clearly addressed to me. However, he took the liberty to open my mail then call me to fuss about its contents. He did not ASK about the letter. He went on a rampage about getting my son to school on time and being responsible. I HIT THE ROOF!!!! You may be right about some things but me not being responsible and doing the best I can for my son IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

I cussed him out while driving my son to school. First of all, there was no need for him to open up my mail!! He had options! He could have called me to pick up my mail. He could have brought it to his job and tell me to pick it up there. (We literally worked across the street in different office buildings). He could have brought it to my job. What he should have not done was open up my mail!

His second mistake was trying to check me. In the words of Shree', "Who gone check me Boo?" The letter was saying my son had excessive tardies.  I think he had about 8 or 9. He did not call with concern to see if there was a problem preventing him to get to school on time. He called to tell me how I was not being a good parent because I was getting him to school late. Now this letter came at the end of the school year. So this little boy was late approximately once a month! Now, I was concern but I KNOW I got him to school on time most of the time. In fact, the few times I got him there late, the bell was literally ringing while I was waiting in the drop off line. I know HE got him to school late at least one of those days. However, he did not want to admit that one!

SO, that day I thought I finished cussing him out on the drive to my son's school. But once I got to work, I realized I had to get the rest off of my chest. I checked on my staff to make sure everyone was there and did not need me before I called him back. Then I let him have it again. It was at that point I felt a "heavy cloud" over me. It was at that moment that I realized when I was with him, a heavy cloud/burden was on me. With me not being with him for 6 months, it was removed. But that ONE conversation brought it right back like a hard storm. It was in that moment I could not entertain any more conversations with him.

Day 20 - This Month

The 30th of the month seems like an appropriate time to discuss "This Month". This month has been a roller coaster ride to say the least. The month started out with one of my favorite uncles eventually dying from a car accident. I know kinda a morbid way to start a post. However that is how I started my month. In fact, it was another illustration of a lunch conversation I had just the previous week. So many people were/are dying and nothing should be taken for granted. Naturally, I went home for his funeral. I hate the occasion but I enjoyed spending time with my family. I spent five days home. I am glad I have an understanding boss.

Man-Child/Baby Bandit had a busy month which means I had a busy schedule. He participated in a Nike Combine while I was at home. He started running track but had to settle for just working out with the track team because of his AAU basketball schedule. I have been roped in to minimize some of the foolishness I can see about to happen with the teams. The coaches are good but the management is unorganized. So I am working on the website, sending out emails to parents, and spearheading fundraisers.

I celebrated my friend's 30th birthday. She had a great dinner party with a live band. We shut the place down when her family and friends started singing Happy Birthday. They had 2 different versions and they can SANG.

Towards the end of the month, I was really tired. Several people over a few days said I looked tired. I decided not to go to my son's tourney of the season to stay home and rest. It was hard, but I think it was a wise choice.

30 Day Challenge

I started this 30 day challenge back in December and I still have 12 days left....shameful! I am going to try to finish within the next 3 weeks. I am not foolish enough to think I will do it in 2 weeks....LOL

Keep checking! More posting to come over the next couple of weeks.

Day 19 - Something I Regret

Regrets. We all have them. Some are deep rooted and others are just little things you wished you had done differently. Many people say live with regrets, but we all know you can not get through life without some regrets. People regret something they said, something they did not say, getting into a relationship, getting out of a relationship, taking too long with making a change, not making a change, telling someone their true feelings, buying something impulsively, etc.

Today's topic is "Something I Regret". I can't think of 1 thing that I regret and willing to share here. You never know who may be lurking! LOL

So what's a girl to do. Without going into many details, I will share some things I have regretted over the years.

• Things I have said to my son
• Things I have said to other family members
• Overthinking situations
• Not pursuing desires or pursuing them sooner
• Expressing my feelings
• PROCRASTINATING

Yep, these are some of the things I have regretted over the years. 

Day 18 - My Favorite Birthday

I am not caring for all these "favorite" posts. I few favorites and birthdays are not one of them. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my birthdays every year. Most years, I am not celebrating on the actual day but I do celebrate it every year some kind of way.

Your birthday is the time to celebrate a new year of life and a reflection on your years on earth. Since my birthday is in June, this is a great time for my midyear calendar review/checkpoint. I use it as a time to assess where I am with my goals and improvements for the year. Then I reset or continue pushing towards those goals.

Since I don't have a favorite birthday, I will share some memorable birthday moments/times:

A few years ago, LadyLee blogged about our friendship for my birthday. It was one of the greatest gifts ever! I like material gifts just like the next girl, but I love gifts which requires thought whether it is material in nature or not. That year, I spent my birthday at a book club meeting followed by about 10 of us from the meeting going out to a early dinner. Lee made me some of her famous chocolate chip cookies. Since Baby Bandit's birthday is 2 days before mine, she sent him his own batch.

The year before, I spent my birthday with another fabulous Gemini. My best male friend Loco's wife and I share the same birthdate. I am literally hours older than her. We both worked that day, but we met up at Taco Mac to start the weekend celebration. Some of her coworkers and friends met us there. We spent a few hours there before moving to the next spot. We finished the night at a Latin club where I attempted to learn how to salsa...LOL

The birthday before last, I had a cookout at the house. No need for me to blog about it. LadyLee took care of it for me. Click this.

Last year, I celebrated for about a week. That was about the time I started this blog. I had a few friends over for a cookout and my mom was in town to pick up 2 of my nephews. I celebrated some more when a couple of my line sisters were in town. Click on the links to read about the weekend celebration. Friday and Saturday

This year I am planning to celebrate 40 years in 40 days. I have started compiling a list of things to do. I am celebrating from June 1st through July 10th. It works great with my school calendar and BB's AAU basketball schedule. I just saw the schedule for the team. There are no games in June and the 1st tourney in July is after my celebrations.

Day 17 - My Favorite Memory

No one memory just pop into my mind. For those who know me, I don't have many favorite anything. I am not an extremist. So it has to be something special to fall into the "favorite" category. I have favorite time periods or close people who gave me great memories, but I don't have just one. OR I have other adjectives for it other than favorite. For example, proud moment, excited moment, pleasantly surprised moment.

So I am stuck on what to use. Therefore I am going to just skip this one!

Day 16 - My First Kiss

By now, you know I like to take the topic and put a twist to it. When I read first kiss, I immediately thought about my first kiss ever with a boy. Then I thought about what twist could I use. It came to me. The first kiss with any guy. What is more memorable or what blog worthy. If I was ever married, I would definitely blog about my first kiss as a wife. Since I am not, I definitely will not blog about it.

Types of first kiss

• romantic kiss ever
• with a new boo
• first kiss as a couple
• first kiss as a married kiss

First kisses are definitely awkward. I wish I was a good story teller and could create this elaborate story. But I am not....so I won't.

I had my first kiss in middle school. THE END

LOL

I believe I was in the 7th grade when I had my first kiss. I was "dating" a twin boy a year older. Both of us went to the movies with our friends. It was about 8 to 10 of us. I could not tell you the name of the movie. I need to call my twin to remember who was all there. So I guess all in all my first kiss was not memorable!

Day 15 - My Dreams

Dreams. According to dictionary.com, dreams mean a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep. Another definition is an aspiration, goal, or aim. I don't remember most of my dreams from the night before unless I talk to someone about it as soon as I get up. I heard you have roughly 5 dreams every night, regardless if you remember them. Most days, I wake up not remembering even one. 

I am going to focus this post on dreams as in aspirations and goals. I hve posted four times since I started my blog dealing with goals. Feel free to check them out: New Year's Resolution - Bandit Style, Bucket List, Vision Boards, and Disorganization and Procrastination. They sum it up for me. 


Dreams to me are fantasies becoming realities. Some of my dreams:

• Getting Baby Bandit graduated from high school and into a 4 year college on a full ride 
• Dating, courting, then getting married to the right guy
• Becoming debt free
• Traveling 
• Learning new things
• Really knowing I have positively impacted my students

I tried to come up with some goals I have not stated in the previous posts. I think my vision board sums up my immediate goals. 

Day 14 – What You Wore Today

Today was game day! So that means red was definitely a must for the day. I wore a red v-neck sweater, with slimming bootleg blue jeans, and black & red boots. I accessorized with a red and white scarf an and big red earrings. My hair has been in twists since Sunday. I wished someone was here to take a picture but they are not. 

Sweater I wore with different accessories

Twists similar to what I have now

Day 13 - My Week

Ok....I just seem not to be able to finish this post. SO....I am going to finish it now. I had quick notes for each of those days. This is from the last week in Jan.

I started this post a couple of weeks ago but never finished. So I guess I have to start over with a new week. I guess it is for the best because that week was not the best and I was very bothered, irritated, and upset. That is not what I really want when I go back to read my posts. Like my girl Lee says, "I life to keep it smurfy around these parts."

Saturday - I finally went to the bank to get a new debit card. Apparently, I lost it the 1st week of the year. I needed to get some cash and stop by the store for some snacks. We had 3 games later that afternoon in Jones County. I learned the day before I can't ride the big yellow bus unless my stomach stays on full! That motion sickness is no joke!

Later, I rode the bus with the JV boys and both varsity teams to Jones County. Unfortunately, both boys teams lost by a bucket. The girls struggled too but managed to pull off the win. None of them played their best game. During halftime and in between games, I was able to grade most of my tests from Friday! Love it! I hate grading papers.

On the ride home, I noticed a had a missed phone call and a message on FB from someone. I called her back. She was calling to apologize for possibly offending me by one of her messages on FB. I thought it was a great gesture to reach out to me. I was not offended by her posting nor did I feel slighted. I am glad she reached out to me though. That lets me know she values our relationship.

Sunday - Nothing major stands out. Just a leisurely day at home watching tv and getting ready for the work week.

Monday - Work

Tuesday - I had a break to the normal week routine. I had a training for the new math curriculum GA is rolling out next school year. Definitely a short work day since I did not have to report early or stay late for any reason and the training center is 2 miles from the house.

Baby Bandit stayed home sick with some type of virus. It started on Monday. It was so obvious on Monday that a few teachers and his coach checked up on him. He came home, ate dinner, then slept for 14 hours straight. I came home for lunch from training to wake him up to take some medicine and eat. He begged to go to practice but both momma and coach told him to stay home, do his homework from the night before and rest. He fell right back to sleep.

Wednesday - Back to the grind. My kids missed me. I think it is more so they had a sub they could not run over. LOL! BB went to school against my better judgement. He struggled most of the day. He needed a 2nd day of rest. He crashed the middle of the day. He literally went to sleep in 3 of his classes. His coach told him to skip practice and catch up on his missing work and rest. BB wished he would have stayed home for the day.

I started teaching my class after-school for students who did not pass the 1st semester. They are trying to recover the missing credit. The students are allowed to test out. Unfortunately, none of the lovely geniuses passed it.

Thursday - Scheduled to be a long day. I had a meeting girls jv tourney game/meeting for house late work conversation on gifted kids

Friday - The day was a typical work day. Nothing unusual. Friday night's game was against Union Grove at home. All the teams played well and we pulled out the win. Love my Bulldogs!!!!

Saturday - I really wanted to go to the Battle of the Bands. However, the week was hectic and I needed to handle some business. I finally made some progress in my office/spare room. I can see the floor now! I finally put all the summer shoes in the closet and threw away some unnecessary papers. Then I did what I do most Saturday nights....had a date with my TIVO!

Day 12 - What's In Your Bag?

What's in my bag? Hmm...which one? My DHS bag, my drawstring bag, or my purse? I rarely carry a purse but I have carried one the last few days. I carry the other two every workday!

Since I really don't feel like moving off this couch to grab my purse, we are going with the bag closest to me. It is my drawstring bag. It is what I used for the basketball games as the bookkeeper.

Here it goes:

• 6 pencils (need them for the scorebook)
• 5 color pens (for grading papers between games and at half time)
• 2 pens
• highlighter
• calculator
• class room keys
• camera
• binder clip
• mail (pulled it when I left the house the other day)

Not your average woman's purse, but who said I was the average woman!

Day 11 - Siblings

Disclaimer: I am not finished with this post. However, I am posting it so I am not in trouble with Psycho! Once I have completed it. Then I will remove the disclaimer. 


As I have mentioned a few times, I am the oldest child of five. I have three younger sisters and one brother.

All of our names starts with the letter T - Tiffany, Tenia, Tierra, Terrance, and Tiauna. I asked my mom about our name selection years ago. Was it intentional since neither my mother or father's names start with T? My mom met a pair of twins when she was about 7 months pregnant. Their names were Tiffany and Taffany. For some reason there names stayed with her and she named me Tiffany.  I definitely preferred that name over Taffany! With my sister, she did not have a name selected. The day my sister was born, some woman named Tonia inherited a fortune. Not really sure why that made the front page news. My mother liked the name but changed the "o" to an "e" for Tenia (pronounced Ta-nee-a). For my second sister, Tierra. My aunt wanted my mom to name her Ciara. But since she was now officially on the T trip, Ciara became Tierra.

It was the 3 of us for eight years. To this day I don't know what my momma and daddy was thinking, but as an eighth grader, they tell me they were having another child. I was not too excited to say the least. I just saw my teenage years gone with babysitting a little kid. In my mind, Tenia and Tierra were not little anymore. They were 10 and 8 respectively. To pacify me, my mom said I could name the next baby. There were 2 requirements. The name starts with a T and since it was a boy, the middle name was either Monte or DeCarlos in honor of my uncle. I gave her Terrance De Carlos or Terrell Monte'. She chose Terrance. A year and a half later, they were pregnant with another one. Again, I was able to help with the name selection. I gave her Tatiana. She said that was too long. Then I gave her Tia. She said that was too short. She finally came up with Tiauna.

Because all our names begin with T, people became confused on who was who. So a few years ago, I gave us all nicknames that describes us. I am telling you now they are not politically correct. I do not do politically correct. Sorry...well no I am not! HA! Tenia (the one right under me) is Psycho. Tierra (the next one) is Fat Girl. Terrance is just Terrance. He is the only boy; therefore, it is not hard to figure him out. And the baby girl, Tiauna, is Psycho Jr. Now don't leave me any comments about their names. They have embraced their names because it is who they are. If they change, then I will change their names! By the way, I am Big Girl. Compared to the 2 Psychos and Terry, I am big.

Tenia - This the sister who probably looks the most like me but tries the hardest to be my complete opposite.

Tenia and Tiffany

Growing up, I was prided myself on doing the right thing. Tenia on the other hand prided herself on doing whatever she felt like doing at that time! She spoke her mind whenever she wanted. Most people think I am outspoken. I don't have anything on her!

One of my earliest memories of Tenia in action is when she was about 3 or 4. My aunt owned a corner grocery store and lived in the apartment over it. My cousin and I worked in the store while the birthday party was happening upstairs. My mother thought Tenia was with us. When we couldn't find her, we started looking for her frantically. After what seemed like forever, we found her under the pool table with a plate of chicken, a plate of chicken bones, and several empty wine glasses. The little girl was feeling good!

A few years later, she had the same 3rd grade teacher I had when I was in 3rd grade. The teacher told my mom, she dealt with me being talkative because I always did her work. BUT Tenia was a different story. She talked all the time and refused to do her school work. I remember asking her about it too. Her response, "I am not you! I don't have to do what you do!" And that has been her motto for the majority of her life.

As adults, we have grown closer. For that I am grateful! I love that I can spend time with her having real talks. We talk about almost everything...kids, relationships, school, work, parenting, and us as adults. Even though I don't tell her often, I love and admire for being able to keep her family of 7 together for all these years.

Day 10 - What I Wore Today

Finally, I quick post I can complete in less than 5 minutes.

As soon as I finish this post, I am going to get dress. Today is the last day of my Winter Break. I am proud of myself for not spending most of my break agonizing over completing a never ending to-do list for school. In fact, I said I was only giving it a max of 2 days and I did not even give it that many. So today, is prepping for the week and completing the end of the semester reports. Therefore, my work gear today is all about comfort.

I am wearing Baby Bandit's DHS Football black sweat pants, long red tee, black DHS tshirt, and black tennis shoes.

Now off to conquer the world....or at least my world.

Make it a Marvelous Monday!