Sorting through my Mobile Uploads–2011 Random

Every once in a while I gather all of the photos I meant to post into a single blog… here is your entertainment for the week with a summary of some of the year’s events so far…

Valentine’s Day/February Birthday celebrations with the girls at Benihana – the chef left me a message *smile*.

Took this pic of a page in the Macy’s ad and went to find it… In the end didn’t buy it. The model must be way taller than me.

My dad was in Chicago the weekend I took my license and took me on a father daughter movie date that night.

A manager posting this after repeatedly telling me to stop walking/running so fast in the office.

I made it to the United Center taping of the Oprah show. It was the BEST concert ever!!!! I had a blast!!

Spent the holidays with my favorite little cousins at Navy Pier.

Took a trip to Detroit and got to see my Papa’s growing urban garden, including the cantaloupe along the fence (its hanging in the bag in the 3rd pic above).

Oh, and I grew my hair out!!! This pic is from June/July when I first straightened it after a few months of wearing it curly.

When I get a chance, I’ll post the food pics… there were too many to include on this post!!

Summer is here!!!

Chicago is finally getting the summer we’ve all been waiting for! 90 degree days with heat indexes near 100 degrees and humidity levels that would make almost any black girl go hat shopping immediately! This weekend I had the opportunity to check out the Forest Park Summer Fest on Madison Ave. It was a nice, FREE, community-type of festival. Lots of families, groups of friends and fun for all ages. The music was good and the food choices were decent. I didn’t realize that the event started Friday at 5, so when I walked up at 3PM, the tents were just going up. So I took the opportunity to see the neighborhood…

One of the more memorable stops was the Paciugo gelato shop (for the readers over 21, check out the drink recipes on their website). After sampling enough to make the bored sales girl a little testy, I settled on a small cup which, for just under $5, allows you to pick up to 3 flavors. I chose the 3 pictures below: Amarena Black Cherry Swirl (my favorite), Mediterranean Sea Salt Caramel (an unbelievably salty-sweet combination) and Banana Crème Pie (much better than I was initially expecting, I selected it off a recommendation).

The final product:

On a hot summer day, this was a perfect treat to enjoy while I sat on the bench outside and enjoyed the view.

On Saturday I enjoyed a nearly 3 hour bike ride through Oak Park with Bobby. We stopped for lunch at the Prairie Bread Kitchen and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching a hilarious Parking Wars marathon on A&E. That evening I went to the Division Street Fest and decided to start the evening with a celebratory margarita! The only problem – the house special for the festival only came in one size - 32 oz!!!

Needless to say, it was hard waking up this morning, but I made it. We also went over to Moonshine to hang out for a while before heading home. I had a wonderful time at the festival and can’t wait to check out more of the Chicago area festivals this summer! I’ll leave you with one last thought… this Journey song has been stuck in my head since last night, hopefully it sticks in yours. Reminds me of the Detroit Tigers baseball games back home…

“Born and raised in South Detroitttttt…..”

Golf is Not Second Nature

My department's Holiday Party included an outing to Top Golf in Itasca, IL. While I own a set of nice clubs and a pair of cute Nike golf shoes, I've never actually used the clubs on a course and the shoes have never been worn. Needless to say, golf is not "my sport".

I must admit, despite the 20 degree weather (as you can see, this involved being outdoors) there were electric heaters all over the place and the hot cocoa was flowing! The food was actually really good (I admit, I wasn't expecting that from a driving range) and the concept of balls with microchips to assign points based on where you land made for a fun, competitive afternoon! I'll definitely be going back, with my own clubs.... Only next time it will be in the spring!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Sorting through my Mobile Uploads–Crazy Edition

Many of my friends on Facebook joke about my fondness of my Blackberry Tour’s camera and capturing the unexpected moments that occur right in front of my eyes…  Today I realized that I had nearly 300 photos on my phone’s memory card so while I’m organizing and deleting. I definitely think some of these are funny enough that they should be shared with the rest of my blog readers… Check out these hilarious pics and the captions beneath them… I’ll be sure to post more later on. Obviously there are PLENTY to go around, so look for the Fashion, Travel and Food editions to follow!

An EXTREEEEMLY drunk guy at the casino trying to get a crippled April to go home with him and become his wife, while Sharon happily pushes April’s wheelchair so she’s practically in the guy’s lap. LOL – I love my girls….

Amtrak took a “smoke break” at one of the stops and we hopped off, into the COLD weather, only to see a very tall guy wearing the world’s shortest shorts ever. Nice legs.

My grandfather decided he wanted a garden in his Detroit backyard and got a little carried away… a few months later he had taken over the backyard and converted it to a farm.

Bobby’s roommate (car on left) came home a little “tipsy” and decided to park in the END SPOT, against my car (on right) leaving me NO SPACE to get  out. I sent this pic along with some choice words.

When my 5 year old cousin BJ found out I “work with Ronald McDonald”, his response was “So… Cousin Cherish works with a clown? Like, in her office?” Hahaha - I swear he thinks like a grown man.

Father son duo taking a scooter ride down the street. Poor kid… I sure hope that man doesn’t have gas.

Suburban prostitute trying to get a gig but doing stretches, on the corner, in shorts, on a brisk Spring day. Get it girl! *giggle*

The most appropriate cake-topper for my relationship… and the very close runner up.

The photo I showed the beautician, and the hair style she gave me because she felt it look better. Thus, I would NEVER recommend Stacey at Mirror Mirror Salon in Chicago unless I wanted to make sure you look way worse than I do.

And last, but not least… My brother, Bravo, got bored in a CVS one morning and starting rearranging the toys and sent me a pic… *shaking my head*

The item of the day is the Barnes and Noble Nook Color, available for $249 at BN.com or Best Buy.com!!! This e-reader looks AMAZING and has been getting good reviews. I asked my parents for a Nook for Christmas, I would love the color edition for magazine reading, but really don’t NEED it so the basic version of the Nook would be ok for me. I’ve debated buying an e-reader for a couple of years, and many of my friends that have them absolutely love them!

    

I Love My Hair!

This Sesame Street video is flying around the internet and I liked it so much I made it the main video on my blog! I had been waiting and waiting for a video that inspired me nearly as much as the Dove “Evolution” ad (which showed the process of turning a model into a MODEL but pretty much creating a new, an artificial, person – which is unfortunately the image we are encouraged to envy by mainstream media). This muppet shows off her many hairstyles and sings a very cute song to show them off. I LOVE THIS VIDEO!

Sesame Street “I Love My Hair”

I got my first relaxer (chemical straightening process, for those who aren’t familiar) in my kitchen when I was seven years old. Yesterday I finally watched Chris Rock’s movie “Good Hair”, and nearly cried when they showed 3 and 4 year old kids getting perms because they “needed to”! ARGH!!! They are babies!!! Overall the movie was a very interesting one… funny, yes. But it really talked about so many aspects of a Black woman’s crown and glory… and a source of so much pain, both internally and physically, that many people can never truly understand.

In undergrad I changed my regular 8 week relaxer schedule to 12 weeks, then 16 weeks, then 6 months and eventually I was getting them once a year… which was when I realized I really didn’t NEED them at all. So I stopped wasting my money on relaxers (but still fed my addition for hair coloring!). I grew my relaxed hair out, chopping it as I went to get rid of the old processed hair. I started trying new products and styling tools for straightening and began to embrace my naturally curly hair. I was initially terrified to wear it curly to work and I used to straighten my hair before job interviews or big events.  I created a “hair diary” a while back… I’m still adding old and new pics to it, but this shows fav pics of a lot of the different hair phases I’ve been through.

Now, I do whatever is convenient, because I love my hair curly AND straight and in the end, what is most important to me is having HEALTHY hair! I love to see my girlfriends, many of whom are “natural” and happy, and all the creative styles they come up with. I have lawyers and doctors and engineers and teachers in my circle who embrace their natural textures and rock em like they belong on a concert stage somewhere. Check some of us out… (No creamy crack allowed… LOL)

   

NOW…. years later… I can actually say I LOVE MY HAIR!! I can’t imagine ever putting those chemicals in my hair or on my scalp again.

If you’re considering the transition (cause it isn’t easy for everyone!) check out some of the sites below for suggestions, inspiration and pics of other women who made the transition and are loving their hair!

• www.naturallycurly.com
• www.nappturality.com
• http://bglhonline.com/
• http://www.coarsehairdiary.com/
• http://naturallyobsessed.onsugar.com/
• http://blackstrands.wordpress.com/

Be sure to go out and get the movie “Good Hair”!

Picnics on the Lake

I’m usually not really a sucker for romance, but these picnic baskets by Picnic at Ascot make me want to grab a bottle of wine and a hot guy and spend some time on Lake Michigan! the sale going on at Ruelala.com features a number of options, including sets for 2 or 4 people, along with detachable wine and blanket compartments. Check out some of the cool styles featured below and hurry over to Ruelala.com if you want to purchase one for your honey or for your family at a cool discounted price! (The sale ends Tuesday night and prices for sets shown below range from $25 to $79)

Happy Picnic-ing!!!!

I have nothing against Lady Gaga....

But her stylist and the designer of this outfit just moved to the top of my fashion HIT LIST.... Creativity went a little too far on this one. LOL

Please Vote Today (MONDAY)

Hey folks, there is a contest going on in the Chicago RedEye newspaper today only. "Bobby" has a song that is up against another one. For those of you who like hip-hop music that you can dance to, please check out "Never Love You" and cast your vote TODAY! Click here to vote: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/kyles-files/2010/05/-young-general-never-love.html

If you listen to the song, please feel free to come back and let me know your thoughts! I will be sure to post a follow up tomorrow with the results. Lets help Young General get those votes in!

Thanks,

Cherish

Have you ever been stuck at a light...

... and the car in the gas station next to you is about to explode, RIGHT NEXT TO A GAS PUMP???? The cops were laughing at me crouched down in the drivers seat with my hands by my face the whole time. My car must have pulled off and went 0 to 60 in about 1.3 seconds. Whew!!! Close call!!

Sent from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Girls Trip to Orlando

Anyone who has followed this blog knows I absolutely LOVE my girlfriends and even more I LOVE to travel with them!!! Last month 9 of my lovely line sisters and soror-friends decided to terrorize the city of Orlando like no other girls can do! We got an awesome deal from Thursday-Sunday at the Mystic Dunes Resort in Kissimmee/Celebration, FL area. For the 9 of us, we rented the Three Bedroom Lockoff with gave us a 3-bed, 3-bath, 2-kitchen space with lots of room and a great balcony. The rates were VERY affordable and when split among the group we spent nearly half of the cost we paid for admission to Universal Studios! We also rented 2 cars for the weekend which was a great idea that provided for plenty of flexibility for the group. (Although in this pic below I was sitting on the floor of the backseat because an extra person jumped in the "mall" car at the last minute and there wasn't enough space for 6 in a Ford Focus! Long - and funny - story short, it was NOT a comfortable ride!!!)

While some of the girls ventured to Cocoa Beach (it was still a bit too chilly for me) the second car spent the WHOLE day at the outlet malls! I am OBSESSED with Orlando's Premium and Prime outlet malls and found so many great items and great deals. I brought Rob back a couple of shirts from the Thomas PINK outlet store (priced at $59 each, versus the normal $180+) and grabbed myself a new pair of black and white Pumas to replace the ones I've had for about 5 years by now. I saw many other great deals and was a little upset that I didn't snatch up the gray Chelsea skinny jeans at the Joe's Jeans outlet store or the blue fitted blazer at Off Fifth.

All in all, we had a great time!!! There is nothing like getting away to celebrate with good friends. Check out some of our fun times:

Fresh off the plane and in an alley somewhere trying to find trouble...

It was 2AM and we were looking for something to get into

The guys at Panchero's moved the tables so we could have a dance competition

The BEST pop in the world - The Coke in the bottle from Mexico made with SUGAR and not that high fructose stuff

Trying out the pedicab at Universal Studios

Peer Pressure - Emily trying to convince Candice to ride one of the rides

Head to head Dance Dance Revolution competition!

Posing for the camera right before Kiana KILLED me at Guitar Hero in the arcade... it was my first time playing but it was fun!

I went to the doghouse looking for Bobby but he wasn't there so I was sad...

Cap'n Joe from Big Toho Airboat Tours - our tour guide on the alligator swamp ride. He stopped in the middle of the swamp to collect payment and he had a credit card machine in his pocket... just in case. LOL

Gator coming towards us and the front row huddling and screaming!

The family gator, we all got to take pics with him... he was pretty nice!

The trip ended with a FUN and FILLING dinner at Benihana followed by what else???? A SLEEPOVER!!! LOL!!! 

What a weekend!!!!! I can't leave you without an item of the day, so here it is..... After a year of speculation it has been announced that the disgustingly crazy "sandwich" offered by KFC, which replaces the typical two pieces of bread with two chicken patties and keeps the rest of the goodies in the middle, will be released this month. You do have the option of grilled or fried, because we all know, two grilled patties is way better... right? This just grosses me out!! Is anyone planning to try it??? The KFC website Nutrition Guide lists the health content near the bottom of page 1 which is summed up as: 

Original Recipe Double Down - 540 calories, 32g of fat,1380mg of sodium

Grilled Double Down - 460 calories, 23g of fat,1430mg of sodium.