If you're new here and you've enjoyed the content, please subscribe to my RSS feed. You can also vote for this blog to be ranked on any of the directories. Thanks for visiting!

I am elated as this really could not be a better time to become vegan.  New and improved alternative foods are popping up everywhere and major grocery chains are rushing to accommodate all types of eaters.  Soy milk has been around for a long time, but special kudos goes out to Silk and Blue Diamond for bringing to the forefront another great alternative, almond milk.  I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal and it states the two companies have entered into a vicious dog fight (a pepsi vs. coke style of competition) and are using all kinds of couponing deals to lure brand-loyal customers and vie for the astronomically growing market share.  I have witnessed it myself in my amazement to see a carton of milk at $2.99 (usually almost $4.00) plus another coupon for Silk, the brand I chose, printed on the back of my receipt at checkout.

In a world where lactose intolerance is high among some ethnic groups and people are becoming wise to the non-benefits of drinking cow’s milk, this is great news.  I mean soy milk is great, but with the increasing controversy over whether too much of it prevents or causes cancer, you just can’t be too safe, and choosing almond milk is a great way to do that.  Other alternatives include rice, coconut (coming to grocery stores as another venture of Silk), hazelnut, and hemp.

Speaking of milk, the most interesting part of the article was the reaction of the dairy industry to their new competition.  Jerry Kozak, president of the National Milk Producers Federation (lobbyers for dariy farmers), sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration requesting a crack down on the use of the word “milk” on dairy alternatives.  He complained that these alternatives are nothing but “plant-derived imitation products”.  Oh please!  Sounds like a little whiny kid running to mom to tattle on a little brother.  Or just a multi-billion dollar giant feeling threatened that his small opponent will rise up and cut him off at the knees.

Now here’s the part where I educate you.  According to what I read in the book Skinny B!t@h (and I’m confident they did their homework), humans are the only species that drink the milk of another species and continues to do so after being weened from the breast.  Think about this…milk is very fattening for a reason, and that is to grow a 90lb calf into a 2000 lb cow over a two year time period.  In an even shorter period, it allows a cow to double its birth weight in 47 days leaving all four stomachs feeling full.  Even if you try to reduce the fat intake by drinking skim milk, there’s no way it could be 100% fat free.

You may be wondering, well what about our need for calcium?  The answer is simple.  Not only can we get calcium from other foods just as easily, but the milk industry has you hood-winked and completely fooled!  Research done by the National Dairy Council itself has proven that drinking cow’s milk actually leeches calcium from your body due to the high protein content and causes the very thing the milk industry claims to prevent: osteoporosis.  Not to mention the reports we’ve been getting for years now of the affects the hormone-injected milk has been having on our precious girls who grow into women way too fast now-a-days.  I think its safe to say milk does NOT do the body good (and I know my lactose intolerant people feel me on this one lol).

Ok, so let’s talk about the upside of substituting almond.  First, almond milk is just crushed roasted almonds that are made into almond butter and then mixed with water, vitamins, stabilizers, and sometimes sweeteners (the good stuff such as evaporated cane juice, not processed sugars).  It is very low in calories (60 cal/cup compared to a whopping 130 cal/cup found in 2% cow’s milk), contains just as much vitamin D and calcium as regular milk, and still provides the milk mustache kids love.

So far I’ve cooked a couple meals with soy and almond alternative and the aroma is intoxicating.  The best part is that it is creamier and cooks just as well as regular milk.  It also taste great with cereal and is not bad to drink alone depending on if you like regular, vanilla flavored, chocolate, or unsweetened.  I dare you to try it yourself for one week .  You may never go back. 

This has been one rollercoaster week on my journey to upgrade my eating habits.  Everything that my vegan friend Oscar spoke about was true.  I learned the hard way that preparation really is key and that people just don’t care to hear the truth (and when they do they still choose ignorance and sugarcoat it with bliss).  I even broke down a few times and stuffed my face in shame.  I’m feeling a lot better now that I’ve done some more studying and a LOT of shopping.

I had initially decided to ease into the whole vegan thing out of fear that I would have a melt down (I did) and want to run to the nearest Burger King.  I patiently waited for my vegan books to arrive and tore into the first two when they finally came.  I knew that switching to a vegan diet was good for the planet and animals as well as for our own bodies, but I had NO IDEA how brutal the agricultural industry is.  Skinny B!t@h gave the raw uncut version of what really happens on Old MacDonald’s Farm and its not cute little cows, pigs, and chickens freely roaming the hillside grazing just as they please.  They are raised in the nastiest, filthiest conditions in tight quarters without sunlight or fresh air and with little concern about their well being when they become diseased or lame.  As a matter of fact they are abused.  And don’t get me started on the slaughter process.  More times than not they are conscious to the very end after being boiled, hung up by a tail or leg, pulled apart, and finally bled out.  Reading that book took me to a very dark place, but it opened my eyes to a lot of things that most people don’t know about the food they eat, including the ones in boxes on shelves.  The most shocking part was how much the government is involved in pushing this stuff down our throats for the sake of commerce and cash flow (or lining the pockets of politicians).  I was literally sick to my stomach, and after that experience I knew I wanted to cut out all animal products as soon as possible.

I read Skinny B!t@h (a great read if you can handle being cursed at and called a Fat A$$ all throughout, if not I would pick something else just as informative) in three days and eagerly moved on to the Conscious Cook cookbook.  I was excited to learn how I could whip up meals where healthy vegetables and other interesting foods are front and center.  It is a great cookbook with some really scrumptious looking food.  I’m sure it would all taste great…if only I knew of half the listed ingredients and where they could be found!  These were gourmet meals, not anything I could take lightly, but stuff I’d have to prepare for well in advance.  I thought to myself, “No problem, I’ll just run to the nearest Whole Foods and pick up everything I need.”  Except I happen to live in “Smallville” where there is no such thing as a Whole Foods.  I almost panicked a little until I remembered walking past an aisle at Krogers called Natural Foods.  Great!  After dropping off my son (this was not a time for multi-tasking) I spent two hours cruising the two aisles of raw, vegan, vegetarian, and organic foods available and reading labels.  I found a few things listed in my cookbook like spices and herbs, tofu and veggie crumbles (alternative to ground beef), but most importantly a lot of snacks!  The downside was the expensive bill that came at the end of checkout.  It was more than double what I usually spend at the grocery store!  I was a little hurt, but it is a small price to pay for good health long term.

I got home thinking with all the stuff I had just bought I would be able to make at least a couple things in the book even though I couldn’t find everything on my list.  Boy was I wrong!  I didn’t have a complete list of ingredients for one single recipe in the entire entree section (I didn’t bother looking at anything else).  This is when I had my first melt down (not to mention the mini one I had at work when I was craving sweets and bought that bag of M&M’s).  It was in the evening around the usual time I make dinner and I was already hungry so that made it worse.  All I kept thinking is that I have all this food I just bought and I can’t even find a single recipe online let alone in this book that I can make right now to feed myself and my son.  OMG, we are going to starve tonight!  At least that is what my panicked, crazy hungry-woman self was thinking.  Even if I wanted to cheat and fix a meat meal I couldn’t cause I threw it all away! I am happy to say I prevailed and did not run to the nearest Taco Hell.  I calmed myself while literally stuffing my face with a whole piece of chocolate cake I just couldn’t turn down from an elderly lady, and thought outside of the cookbook.  What do I usually cook when I have nothing in the freezer? Spaghetti!  Yes, I’ve got whole wheat noodles, sauce, I’m good to go.  Oh look I even have this fake sausage (vegetable protein) I bought and totally forgot about.  I can still have spaghetti with “meatballs”!  I threw some basil and oregano in that sauce and it was the best spaghetti I’ve made in awhile.  Most importantly I got to live another day without starving.

I eventually did find a store comparable if not better than Whole Foods with a great local flare to it that had just about everything I needed.  The prices weren’t too bad either.  However there were still one or two ingredients missing for the recipes I had my heart set on trying out.  So begrudgingly I made the trip to Wal-Mart and was surprised to find the last of the major items I was looking for (if you can’t find an unfamiliar ingredient, try the Asian aisle!).  I was even more surprised to find that the super chain has stepped it up a notch in providing “organic” foods (so they say) and a very extensive produce section (better than Kroger’s even).

Even though its only been a little more than a week since my initial post I can definitely tell the difference in my taste buds (M&M’s are not the same) and how my body is affected by foods.  I reverted back out of laziness one day and ordered my usual pepperoni pizza that left me very sick the next morning.  I’m convinced that two days of no dairy prior to that was the main cause, which indicates my body is already healing itself.  I also conquered my own perception that eating only fruit for breakfast would leave me starving and unsatisfied.  I felt refreshed and content.  As a matter of fact, my runny nose stopped running within a hour of ingesting my first fruit-only meal.  After a difficult week I’m back to feeling great about the changes I’m making and the positive influence I’m having on my son (he’s already eating more fruits and loving it).  Now that I’ve scouted out where to find the most crucial ingredients I’m eager to try my first gourmet vegan meal this week.  I’ll be sure to upload the pics!

Until then…

I always been against these things, resolutions made at the beginning of a new year, because it implies you have to wait for a whole year to make improvements in your life.  And of course, people never stay committed to keeping their resolution.  One article I read stated that up to 45% of Americans will make a New Year’s resolution.  Of that 45%, just under half of them are still going after 6 months. In other words, approximately 1 in 5 Americans find it within their power to keep their resolution.

According to another article New Year’s resolutions started along with celebrating New Year’s Day with the Babylonians 4000 years ago.  But get this, during this time it wasn’t celebrated in the middle of winter and the popular thing wasn’t to make resolutions to lose weight or to quit smoking.  It occurred in spring which makes sense with the beginning of a new season and the growth of new blossoms, and the Babylonians resolved to return farm equipment they had borrowed throughout the year.  It is very interesting to see how this celebration has evolved of millenniums.

Like I started to say, resolutions have never been my thing, but I somehow always seem to make major decisions at the beginning of a new year.  This year is no different and I’ve got a couple major ones that I wanted to share, only I’m calling them transformations, and this will be the Year of Transformation for me.

The first one is to stop putting chemical products (relaxers) in my hair and to go natural.  This is something I’ve always wanted to do since I thought I wanted to be a Rastafarian (or be like them) my freshman year of college and grow locks.  I think locks are beautiful and it takes a lot to be that committed, but it is not my desire at the moment.  When I lived in Durham, NC for about 8 months earlier this year I found myself surrounded by the most beautiful natural-haired black women I’ve ever seen in one place. There were so many at my church that I was easily in the minority.  I was amazed that there were so many different styles and textures that it seemed the possibilities of being creative are endless.  However, being one to rebel against the majority and refusing to conform I continued proudly wearing my chemically straight hair and would only ask the occasional question of interest.  It was easy to do considering the fact that I had a live-in beautician (my sister) who relaxed and styled my hair for free.  Now that I have moved 2.5 hours away from her to a place where good beauty shops and beauticians are scarce (not to mention it cost about $75 a month to maintain and you won’t believe the nonsense I have to endure just sitting there for three hours) the itch to go natural has returned.  Before I was afraid to even find out what my natural hair could look like.  I know it won’t be wavy curly like my lighter skinned sister, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be too difficult to manage.  After becoming educated on the many different ways I can wear it (straight or curly) and still look beautiful I am no longer worried but ready to make the switch and excited to experience my true beauty and creative individuality.  (Please remind me I said this 3 months from now when it takes an hour to comb out my hair!).

The next major transformation I want to make is in my diet.  My first close encounter with a vegetarian came, again, in college (If I didn’t learn anything in school, I can definitely say I got a great cultural experience).  I met an Alpha man who ate no meat or animal by-products and proudly educated me on the benefits of doing so.  (One being that the natural body odor would become more pleasant once the body is rid of rotting meat.)  I was impressed, but it still felt like something I couldn’t do at the time.  I loved hamburgers too much!  And barbecued or fried chicken?  How could I give that up?  As I grew older though and picked up bits and pieces of information I thought maybe its something I SHOULD do at some point in my life when I’m ready.  More recently, as in a week ago, I was discussing healthy eating with my family over the holidays.  It prompted me to look up the reasons to become a vegetarian and I came up with an article that provided 22 Benefits.  The information ranging from how animal agricultural affects the environment to how eating meat affects our bodies was startling.  I literally could not look at meat the same.  I was in the grocery store check out line the next day and the woman behind me threw a packaged slab of beef liver on the conveyor belt (who eats beef liver?!), and just the thought of putting something like that in my body after reading what I read made me want to be sick.  That’s when I knew that it was time to look into this veggie thing with some serious consideration.

As soon as I made the decision I thought to consult my friend Oscar Jeffries-Richardson, the Most G (and most ignorant) Vegan Enthusiast I know from the Midwest.  I knew he would give it to me raw and give me the real skinny on how to give up meat gradually versus going cold turkey(all puns are intended lol).  The advice he gave was encouraging but also a little daunting, and I was grateful to know what I was really getting into.  He revealed from his beginning experience that he had to let go of the friends he dined out with and even stopped eating out all together.  I was shocked to find out that people will hate on you just for the simple fact that by committing to this discipline (as you may also find with following anything outside the norm) you are demonstrating that you are stronger than them, at least in their insecure minds.  So he warned me to be careful of who I share this new information with.  I can really see this because the night I brought it up with my family I definitely got some back lash on the idea based on the fact that people have been eating meat for centuries and lived long healthy lives.  I am learning this may be true, but if you can be even healthier and live an even longer life by cutting out meat, then why not?  The best advice Oscar gave was to always be prepared.  He mentioned the fact that there are no vegan fast food chains so it wont be easy to just stop on the way home and pick up a meal like I’m used to doing.  I will have to have snacks on me at all times and take vegan dish leftovers for lunch at work.  Two books he recommended which I’ve already ordered from Amazon are The Conscious Cook (cookbook) and Skinny B!t@h.  I also added The Ultimate Skinny B!t@h Cookbook to give me a good start.

While the thought of what it takes to make such huge life-changing transformations is a little intimidating, I know the benefits of healthy eating and having beautiful healthy and natural hair will far outweigh the initial pain.  And like my boy Oscar says, “It’s like anything else in LIFE Leslie, its 100% mental, so you’ll be fine, don’t over think it…”

To keep tabs on how I’m doing, stay tuned.  I’d also love to hear from anyone else who has an experience they want to share or advice to help me get started.  So please feel free to comment and share via facebook and twitter.

This had been going on for weeks and it was starting to drive me nuts.  I know from other parents that it is nothing new and in fact very common, but it was still boggling my mind as to why my 2 1/2 yr old son was getting up multiple times in the night and just sitting there (there being wherever I was.)  It could be 2 in the morning and if I showed any signs of being awake he’d be pressed up against the wall as if he had on an invisible cloak.  At first I didn’t think much of it and immediately put him back to bed only to hear his door creak open seconds later.  Then I found it to be cute and decided to just pretend I didn’t see him.  He played quietly in a corner until 1am when I had had enough and was finally ready to go to bed.  That’s when it became annoying and discouraging to realize not only was I working full time, taking care of him alone in the evenings and on weekends, but I was losing the two little measly hours (or more if I sacrificed sleep) that I savored to myself at the end of the night when he was finally off to sleep.  Every parent, and especially my singlemamas know what I mean.  That is the time when you can wind down without having to hear all the whining and crying that seems to never end.

Things got ugly and I waged a full-out war in an attempt to gain back my “Me Time”.  I tried spanking, yelling, threatening, bribing, begging, and even some super-secret ninja moves I had seen on Super Nanny, but to no avail.  He whimpered when I yelled and cried when I spanked, but his desire to be on the outside must have been stronger then the pain of a good ol’ butt whoopin because he would always come right back out moments later.  Super Nanny’s advice of repetitiously putting the child back in bed without speaking or looking them in the eye was starting to wear him down, but not without wearing me out in the process.  I tried this for 3 days and at close to 35lbs, lifting him up to fifteen times a night was no fun.  Then I finally had a breakthrough.  I thought, if I lock him out of my bedroom, he may just get bored of not having anyone to spy on and fall asleep on his own.  The best part is I could still have my uninterrupted peace minus a little jarring of the door knob.  An hour after doing so I fully expected to see him knocked out in front of my bedroom door, but he wasn’t there!  Amazingly he had put himself back in the bed, pulled up the covers, and was fast asleep.  This had worked perfectly and I felt I was finally gaining in the war for peace.  Then the feelings of worry and guilty overcame me.  I thought, “Am I a horrible mother for locking my son out of my room every night just so I can be selfish and have time to myself?  What if he gets into something and hurts himself while I’m enjoying myself?”  That last part almost did happen when he got past me one night in super-stealth mode and spilled a whole bag of peanut butter M&M’s that I’m sure he was planning to eat and just so happens to be allergic to.  So back to the drawing board I went.

Finally one night I had an epiphany.  It came while putting my one yr-old niece to bed who was visiting.  My sister’s instructions were to give her a bottle, hold her tight for a few minutes, and put her down.  As I was going to pick my son up for the third time that night something told me not to just drop him back in the bed this time, but to sit and hold him for awhile like I did my niece, and like I used to do him as a baby.  I noticed his breathing almost immediately slowed down as he held me tight, and I stepped outside of myself for a second.  I tried to put myself in his two yr-old little mind and to think what he might be thinking when I put him to bed.  I thought, “It’s dark and lonely in here, I’m kinda hungry because I refused to eat all of my food, and I think I have to potty, but I’m not really sure.  Most of all, my best friend and the center of my universe is no longer in my view.  I wonder what she is doing.  If only I can get close enough to see her and not get in trouble.”

Those thoughts just really opened up a whole new perspective for me and caused my heart to soften.  I realized that he was just a little boy who wanted to be with his momma.  I had figured out before that he wanted to be around me and to be able to see me.  Now I knew he wanted to be with me, to be held, and to have all of my attention.  Even though we go through our routine of reading a book, singing a song, and saying a prayer I had stopped just holding him.  Not long after sitting down I could tell he was asleep, and I wasn’t too surprised that he stayed for awhile and only got up once more (a huge victory over the eight more times I was expecting that night).  This last time I slowed my pace and made sure he knew he had all my love and that Mommy wasn’t going anywhere.

Hello My Fabulous Single Mothers,

I know for some of my original readers it seemed like my posts took on a sharp turn as I came to start my new venture into internet marketing and began to fully understand how to go about using a blog as a tool.  I apologize for confusing anyone if that occured, and I am happy to announce that I am creating a new blog that is almost complete and that FabSingleMamas will go back to it’s intended purpose.  That purpose was to uplift, entertain, and share with other single mothers (and whoever else would listen) out there the joys and pains of raising a child and doing it alone.  Not only that, but to also provide myself with a healthy outlet.  So you can expect more of the same funny and thoughtful or thought provoking content that I first started out with.  Enjoy my next post today at 5:30 PM EST!  (For any of my newer readers who would like to continue following my marketing content and learning the secrets to online wealth generation I will be launching and posting my new blog on Facebook soon.  You can connect with me and stay tuned by clicking the FB button to the right.)

Have a wonderful day and of course…

Hello My Fabulous Single Mamas,

I know it has been awhile and I have been a little quiet, but a lot of moving around has been going on in my life.  Some good things physically (location wise), mentally, and spiritually.  You can never go wrong when you invest in your own personal development and lately my cup has been overflowing with revelations and aha moments from the life-changing information I’ve been reading and listening to.  There are a lot of people out there calling themselves lifestyle coaches, but there are only a few that I follow and recommend.  Below I have added a short video of me talking about one lesson I learned from Shanel Cooper-Sykes this past week.  It helps even more when you can talk to these guru mentors and get up close and personal with them.  I am grateful that she is so generous with her time, energy, and personal story.  She allows her students to just bask in her glow (via Ustream) while teaching us along the way and bringing us up to her level.  So enjoy and I hope you are just as uplifted as I was when I had my aha moment the other night.

P.S. Of course I had to put a shameless plug in for my business because it ties in so well I couldn’t help myself.  :-)

Until next time…

Intellectual stimulation, handsome features, partnership, humor, and unprintably good sex.  These are some of the things a few long-time wives ranging from 42 to 65 are saying drew (and still draws) them to their mates.  It always gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling to hear the stories of couples that have been together for upwards of 30 years.  Well “O, The Oprah Magazine” has captured that in this tell-all article of women from all backgrounds and ethnicities giving the scoop on “How they knew he was the one”, “What made it last”, and their wisdom-filled advice for the young and single ladies out there looking to find their soul mate.  Most of the stories probably sound familiar if you’ve had a conversation or two with your grandmothers and other mature and happily married women, but when you hear something like that repeatedly, it tends to make you pay attention.  Their advice comfortably confirms that what you’ve heard before must be true and it should be tucked away for the time when it is needed.  As much as you may find yourself searching with eyes wide open, the widely varying stories they tell of how they got together reminds you that it could be anyone at anytime anywhere.  It could be your best friend, the hunk at church, that annoying guy that bugged you every day in class for your notes, or the one who always seems to be at the grocery store when you’re there (be careful, this one may be a stalker!).

So have faith my Fabulous Single Mamas and be open to the possibilities.  He’s out there somewhere and when the time is right, you will be divinely drawn to each other, just like these women who give us a small glimpse of long-wedded, marital bliss.  Just don’t forget to pass it on to the next generation.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/relationships/article.aspx?cp-documentid=24894977

While reflecting and drinking a cup of tea one day I came up with this short metaphor for our attitudes and thought it would be worth sharing.  A little change in attitude can go a long way in helping us get the things we want in life. A woman and her character make-up are like a cup of tea.  Without adding anything, tea (hot or cold) is very bitter and does not taste good.  That doesn’t happen until you add some honey (or agave nectar for all you raw foodies), or a little bit of all that is sweet in this life; joy, laughter, genuine happiness for others, kindness, and most importantly, God’s love.  See we always have God’s love, but we don’t always choose to let it shine through.  So when the tea has brewed over time or the tea bag has seeped long enough, and all that is good and sweet has been added and stirred up, you’ve got a mix of bitter and sweet.  The question is do you have enough sweet to overpower the negativity, envy, misplaced anger and bitterness, and straight-up unpleasantness in your life?  Because that will determine if the people in your life indulge in drinking from your cup or not.  So I ask again, is your tea bitter or sweet?

Hello My Fabulous Single Mamas (and Friends),

I want you to know I have been working very hard to put together my first tutorial video for you all.  On facebook and in real life I come in contact with a lot of people, especially singlemoms that are looking for some extra monthly income to help pay their bills and make life a little easier.  Affiliate Marketing is something anyone can do.  If you’re reading this, you already have access to a computer and the internet.  All you need now is a little time, creativity, and patience.  I say patience because the sky is the limit on what you can earn with these tools and information, however it does not happen overnight.  Like marketers love to say, “You can’t quit before pay day.”  I also don’t want to disillusion anyone into thinking all you have to do is create it and they will come.  You can have the nicest website and the best product, but if no one sees it, then you’re not going to benefit.  You must learn how to generate traffic by using a keyword search tool to find the best keywords that people are using to search for your topic and product.  Once you figure that out you can get a lot of traffic and most likely start to make a lot of money.  Don’t worry, this is something I will also talk more about in the next video.  Affiliate Marketing online is by far anything new, people have been doing this for years, but I figure if I’m just now catching on within the last 6 months, there are still people that could use this information.  So I hope you are able to gain valuable insight from my video that you can put to the test and prove that it works.  I’d love to hear your comments and testimonies!  Please feel free to ask any questions as well.  If you want me to clarify anything, just shoot me a message and I will do what I can to help you.  You can also subscribe below to receive free training on other topics of online marketing.

To Your Fabulous Success!

It took us forever to leave the restaurant with everyone wanting to get a few more group and individual shots, but what can you expect when its not too often that we get so dressed up.  I was starting to not feel too well and I let Miriam and Margarite (our driver that evening) know that I would need to stop back at the house first before risking the trip downtown.  The closer we got to the car things became even more urgent with every rumble of my stomach.  I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me or the timing because I was afraid my night would be cut short.  As we raced down the street with all of us yelling at Margarite to drive faster and to run a red light or two I couldn’t believe we ended up behind a guy on a moped driving 15 mph on a dark one lane road.  We were practically on his bumper but too afraid to go around and risk hitting someone coming around the curve.  All I remember is shouting “Are you serious, are you really serious right now?!”  Finally he let us pass giving us a thumbs up on the way with  Margarite putting the pedal to the metal.  We pulled up to Edwina’s apartment and then I had to wait for someone to let me out because Margarite, our resident mother of the group had her child locks on to prevent any one of her five beautiful children from jumping out.  Well that’s exactly what I had wanted to do and by the time someone opened my door I had removed my 5-inch Nine West stilettos and jetted down the walkway barefoot.  It turned out things weren’t so bad and by the time everyone was ready to head downtown I was feeling much better.

Miriam and Edwina were riding with me in Margarite’s car and we became filled with excitement as we rode down the strip looking for a place to park.  The pulse of the Market area was alive and seemed to vibrate in the rumbling sound of the white 2003 Mustang SVT Cobra just ahead of us along with the random snippets of lively conversation spilling out from the crowded establishments and sidewalks.  Our first impulse was to stop in at  Wild Wings to do an assessment of the night and decide where to go.  Just waiting for us was an empty 8-seater booth directly in front of the live band that is setting up.  We all slid in and began to order when it became obvious why the booth was empty.  The music speakers were pointed directly at us and very loud.  I think we were all happy just to be sitting somewhere though because the walk from the parking lot in our heels had been long.  The atmosphere was pretty laid back and the crowd was mostly Caucasian with a few lively characters sprinkled throughout.  It wasn’t long however before two guys came up to the table to introduce themselves.  Ironically one of them was also dressed in all white with a cap pulled down tight over his wildly loose blond curls.  The other had more of a military-personnel-in-civilian-clothes look going on and that probably wasn’t too far from the truth seeing as how Charleston is a strongly military-based town.  You could tell these guys had already gotten loose for the night because they were all over the place dancing and shouting over the band.  The waitress arrived to take our drink orders and soon after delivered seven waters (Theresa had decided to go home for reasons unbeknownst to me).  Alicia had gotten up and one of the guys had gotten so uncomfortably close that she bumped the table to avoid him and ended up spilling a few of the waters all over her dress and table.  This started a ripple effect as the girls closest to the spill jump up to avoid the spill.  I am grateful I am not one of them, but empathetic to Alicia because she got it the worst.  I calmed her down telling her the dark color of the dress hid the stain and no one really couldn’t tell.  Besides that, it was only water and would dry pretty fast.  There was no way we could stay at the table so this prompted us to leave and find out what else was going on at some of the other spots.  We ended up walking back and forth a few times and even tried to get into one of the dance clubs, but found the doormen to be unsympathetic to the fact that Pristie was not quite 21.  Eventually we found our way back to Wild Wings and decided to try again.  Our booth was still open and much drier this time.  Salome, a new friend of Miriam’s joined us and we all just sat talking for a while and checking out the scene.  The band from Greenville was great, covering songs like “Say” by John Mayer and playing other tunes they had written themselves.  Before long the group of three guys that had come in earlier finally got up the courage to send one of their members to talk to us.  He was the cutest and most outgoing of the group, probably counting on our sympathy that he was on crutches.  He looked really young, with braids, which is probably why he got the cute rating and nothing higher.  He sat next to Edwina who seemed to be pulling them in all night, and explained they were there from California for a family reunion and looking for something to do.  I felt bad for them knowing they were used to a better night life that kept goingmuch later than the Charleston 2am curfew.

After awhile the real fun began when a tall guy with a ball cap and weird looking goggles for glasses came up and asked us all to dance.  Everyone said no, but I’ve always said it only takes one person asking, no matter who they are or what they look like, to get me on the dance floor (that or a good reggae song of course), so I finally obliged.  I wasn’t trying to get too close (and later on I realized this was a good thing when Miriam showed me the huge pit stains on his purple shirt that only the camera picked up) but was happy to be twirled around and swaying to the beat.  The songs weren’t really dancing songs, but after some nudging, Edwina joined me and we somehow made it work.  It must have been really something to see a group of Black girls (the only ones in the place) dancing to alternative music (and keeping the beat) because Miriam showed me the growing crowd of Black men at the window staring at us!  This only made me laugh and dance even more.  I could tell the band really appreciated our spunk because they played an impromptu rendition of Blackstreet’s 90’s hit “No Diggity” before finishing the set with Prince’s “Purple Rain”.

We decided to leave once they stopped playing and head over to the Market to sit on the wall and people-watch as the bars and clubs let out for the 2am shutdown.  Police, who were most likely Citadel grads, were everywhere on foot and bike patrolling the scene, but mostly standing around trying to look macho.  It was pretty interesting as I had never seen so many drunk girls displaying themselves and sticking out their legs for the men passing by in the middle of the street.  I thought it was some form of the stanky leg dance, but apparently this is a Betty Boop-esque display women used back in the day to catch a ride hitch-hiking.  You learn something new everyday.  One more guy hopeful for Edwina’s phone number boldly came up and asked to talk to her.  She cracked me up replying, “Oh, are you ok?”, as if he had something deep on his mind and wasn’t just trying to holla at her.  This guy was pretty young too and it is obvious that most people have no idea of her real age or that she has two kids, with her petite face and slim shape.   I was content to just be there watching and laughing with my friends when this Puerto Rican stopped by and said in a slight New York accent “What ya’ll pretty ladies doing out here without ya men?  Where they at?”  Alicia quickly replied, “Our men are at home sleeping!”  For some of us she meant literally and others only figuratively.

I couldn’t help but stare at his deep dimples and kind eyes that twinkled when he smiled and made him appear to be an all around nice guy.  He went around the group shaking hands and commenting  that each one of us was beautiful only when he stopped at me he said gorgeous!  I began to take notice even more as he smoothly made his way around the group mixing with everyone like a pro, but still checking back my way often.  I was pleasantly surprised when he finally came over and started a conversation.  It turns we had a few things in common.  He was in the Coast Guard and I was prior Navy.  After talking for quite awhile and comparing notes he asked if he could see me before I left and I hesitated just long enough to think about it and to not seem pressed and said yes.  I didn’t know this guy from Adam, but I decided to take a chance and get to know someone new.  You just never know what could happen.  The night ended when his friends miraculously appeared out of nowhere and he walked us to our parked cars with them shouting for him to hurry up.  They were more than a little annoying and Miriam took note that one of them mentioned Rico Suave was persistent, but I just brushed it off as a compliment.  He seemed to be the perfect gentleman and I thought to myself, this weekend is going to be even better than I thought and I was definitely looking forward to part three: Date Night.