Why Aren't We in the Kitchen?

After speaking with a friend, I've come to the conclusion that I do not know very many females my age that cook on a regular basis if at all. I'm 22 years old and I cook pretty often seeing as though I live alone and need to save money. If I don't cook dinner then I'd need to eat out at least twice daily and that can be extremely expensive. That's it. That's why I cook! It's honestly the only reason I cook so I can't act holier than thou. I will be making candied yams for the first time tonight so wish me luck! Cooking is a learning process for me and I'm beginning to enjoy it more. I met a guy and he had a great philosophy for he looks at cooking as an art form. He compares his dishes to works of art that he enjoys creating. I haven't quite gotten to this point yet, but hey. I must admit that if I had the means or a schedule that would allow me to dine out daily, I probably would. But what about you or those you know?

After doing a little field research I've noticed that women want to be wined and dined while being courted. This is fine and dandy, but how long should this last? Doesn't everyone want to stay at home and have dinner while watching movies or something? We've all heard the saying

"The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach..."

yet some refuse to cook. Is it because women have gotten lazy over the years? Are men no longer worthy of us slaving in the kitchen? Have societal roles changed that much? Granted, women no longer have to be extremely submissive and are often the ones bringing home the bacon but is a home cooked meal every once in a while too much to ask? Women complain that there are no "good men" around but in the event that we find one, will we be prepared? Cooking is an essential part of life and if you desire to get married and have children one day, I suggest that you start practicing now. If you ask me, some of this obesity is directly related to the lack of cooking that exists nowadays. I know women with children who buy fast food each day for some type of convenience. This is getting out of control! What are your thoughts?

Maybe I'm just old fashioned...

A Change Is Gonna Come

Hey Ya'll,

Once again time has flown and it's been a while since my last post. I'm sure you weren't checking daily for updates or anything, but it is my dream that one day people will be. I don't desire to be a popular blogger for I consider myself a journalist. I hope that I will be able to use this site for practice and possibly build a network through it. If I'm learning anything while majoring in the field of Communications, it's that it's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know! I titled this post "A Change Is Gonna Come" because I truly believe that changes will be happening in my life. I hope you noticed and enjoyed the banner I put up. Also, check out my logo pictured above. Isn't it lovely? It's courtesy of Hilltop Consulting and I'm extremely thankful. I'm one step closer to being "official." Whatever that means...

I will be updating the site more often so stay tuned... I'm currently working on a research paper about the lack of African American families shown on primetime television. Let me know your thoughts. I think it's a brilliant topic and I look forward to doing the research! Do you think that there are any television shows that depict African Americans is a good light?

A Frugal Person's Guide to Shoe Shopping...

We all have our vices. Some people love drinking alcohol. Others love eating fatty foods. Alex loves shoe shopping! I must say that these tough economic times have not allowed me to shoe shop as much as I'd like to, but I still catch myself window shopping from time to time. As a professional shoe shopper, I have found that one should NOT buy a pair of shoes unless they they absolutely need them. It's easy to tell yourself that something in a store is absolutely necessary so ask yourself these two questions first:

"Do I have clothing and/or accessories to match the shoes already?"

"Will I be able to pay my rent after purchasing these shoes?"

If the answer to both of these questions is "yes", then you NEED those shoes! I have found that an amazing pair of shoes can enhance even the simplest outfit. I try not to get shoes that are "so fly" that I'll never find anything to wear with them. I keep it simple and find shoes that I can actually wear often enough to feel as though I've gotten my money's worth. So take a look at a few pairs of shoes that I think I need in my life! I'll probably end up getting only one pair, but it doesn't hurt to look, right?

These Zed shoes by L.A.M.B. retail at about $300 and I wear a size 5 1/2 or a 6 if you're feeling generous.
These Lana booties by Dolce Vita also retail for about $300 and are perfect for any season if you ask me.
Lastly, I can't forget about the ONE MAN that's following my blog... I'm in love with the idea of men wearing loafers! Peep these Parigi loafers by Salvatore Ferragamo. Granted, they'll cost you $475 so I hope you're gainfully employed. I'm sure you can find plenty of alternatives though.

. . .Quotes to Live By. . .

I just so happened to log on twitter and see a retweet of something that Rev Run tweeted. I then clicked onto his page(@RevRunWisdom) and saw that he had a lot of interesting quotes/sayings that he tweeted. I would like to take this time to share some of my favorite ones with you:

"Ladies::: Be good to yourself, people only treat you as good as you treat yourself"

"Stop trying to figure out how to fix a relationship that ended badly! There are really no great endings! Its life"

"Be careful who u hurt - Pleasure lasts for a moment, but you could leave someone in pain 4 a life time."

"If you don't come out of your comfort zone... your headed for some serious discomfort!"

"You've had nice things happen to you before... They'll happen again!"

Now I didn't just want to copy and paste things that you can obviously read elsewhere so I'd like to share what these quotes mean to me. Without mentioning every single one, I'll state that I've recently been having personal issues. Ones that prohibit me from trusting others. Issues that were causing me to think that I'd rather be single for the rest of my life than to be stuck dealing with liars all the time. I've felt like I wasn't progressing fast enough in life. These are issues that made me feel inadequate. I'm not weird. We all feel like this from time to time. Now even though only two people read my blog (LoL), I just had to share this. These quotes and many others are quotes that should cause us to put things into perspective. Read them and apply them to your life in some way. You'll soon see all the blessings that your life has and the ones that are to come.

I encourage you to look for strength in words of wisdom. There is no need for you to feel sad about anything. You're too blessed to be stressed. And in the words of Ne-Yo, "You're too fly to be depressed."

She's So Dope....

I'm supposed to be studying, but I can't stop thinking about other things. With this as the case, I thought I'd share Priscilla Renea's latest YouTube video. She's just the epitome of amazing, I swear! "Hung Up" is a clever song telling the story of a girl who think she has a guy all to herself only to find out that he has a girlfriend after calling his house phone.Just watch the video and you're sure to fall in love with Priscilla and her style of music. I'll edit this post more later when I find the time...

Why Do Black Men Lie?

I've posed a question for which I have no answer. When I started this blog, I was attempting to write about random things that interest me and up until now I've only been interested by music, movies and other entertainment related issues. Up until now, I've been super single and not looking. But it is now 2010 and I have a crush like you wouldn't believe.. That was until I came up with the notion that this crush may have a girlfriend. In an effort not to put all my business on the internet, I'll get to the point. This guy has not once mentioned a girlfriend in the two months that we've been talking so I pray that my suspicions end up making me look psycho in the long run. We shall see...

But this post isn't just about this one crush, it's about black men in general. I can't count the number of times that a friend of mine has complained to me about her "sorry a$$" man that just happens to be black and a liar. I recently had a week off work so I spent most mornings watching shows like Maury and The Steve Wilko Show (SAD, HUH? LOL... DON'T JUDGE ME!)and on these shows there were many different races and ethnicity's being represented. The black men on these shows stood out to me. They were not once proven honest when the results of polygraph tests were given. There was one man who fathered four infants at one time by three different women. He accomplished this by lying to these women. Yes, I thought that these women had to each be hella dumb to get gamed up that tough, but maybe not. Maybe he was just a great liar. Whatever the case, why is it that black men are always two-timing and lying to women? Why is it that one woman is never enough? Should I be asking these questions for all men? What are your thoughts?

Let me know why you think black men lie....

Happy New Year!

Hey you...

Thanks for clicking on whatever link you clicked to reach my blog. Part of my New Year's resolution is to write more and this site will probably be the best way for me to do so. Do me a favor and follow me so I can share my randomness with you in 2010. This post will be short, but it's a start! Holler back with a follow or a comment. I'd love to know your New Year's resolutions and plans for this new year.

Much Love,

Alex B.