Holiday Treasures

A new year brings new things and so this marks not only my first post of the new year but also my first attempt at posting to my blog via my blackberry. Yes, this is a new day :-)

As I write this I'm traveling back to NYC from an east coast tour visiting my family in south carolina and DC. I stayed in SC with my aunt, uncle and cousins for a week then headed up to DC for a day to see a lot more of my cousins. I had the best time. We drove about 2 hrs to Columbia for a day, early in the week, to see my grandaunt and my cousins there which is always nice b/c I don't get to see them often. Otherwise, I ate like food was going out of style...seriously. I took advantage of all the food that I can't get in Minneapolis...Waffle House, Golden Corral, Krispy Kreme, and Sonic (twice). I did do a little exercise too - my cousin Jus and my sister came with me jogging one morning to Dunkin Donuts (about a mile maybe? And yes I'm well aware that donuts defeat the purpose...ask me if I care). It was cool until we got chased by two different sets of racist dogs (yes, the racist part has been verified...they only chase after black folk...and no I'm not joking). When I wasn't eating or getting chased by dogs I was doing what I do best...shopping, of course. We hit up three different malls including the mall where my cousin Malcolm works and the outlets which we hit up twice. I got some outrageous deals at BCBG, including a dress for my birthday party in a few months (more details to come). I also managed to find a gorgeous pair of black 4 inch heels for $18 at rack room shoes (compared to the almost identical $80 pair the sales lady at BCBG tried to talk me into buying). Other notable buys include dress pants for work that I copped from BR and BCBG, a teal leather Coach bag (that matches my party dress), a gazillion bath and body works products, some body butters from the body shop, a Coach travel bag, and some Christian based self-help books since I'm on a mission to become a better "Me" this year. I celebrated the new year with the family, pigging out on potato skins, meatballs, pizza, chicken, peach cobbler (courtesy of mrs. smith) and banana splits. Yeah I know...where does it all go? I'm not quite sure but when I figure it out I'll be sure to let you know. After hanging out in SC all week we made our way up to DC and stopped at my cousin Punch's house. My cousins there took us to the original waffle shop for breakfast, then honestly I passed out most of the afternoon. We had driven through the night and I was the last to go to sleep. Those waffles didn't exactly help either. One of my cousins who is in his first year of college at Michigan State came w/ us too and it was good to catch up w/ him. After getting some good rest passed out on my cousin's couch, my cousin Eric took me and my siblings to the outdoor market. We ran into another cousin who works there (yes, I have about a million cousins in DC in case you're wondering). The market was neat but it was kinda cold out. After the market all of us went to dinner at my cousin Sharon's house. A good number of folks came through and I really enjoyed seeing everyone. Which leads me to the present moment...on my way back to the Bronx. My oldest brother and his family are supposed to be coming up tomorrow from pennsylvania to see me before I leave to head back to Minneapolis. Its going to be hard to go back...I love being around family. But hey, I have to go where they're paying my bills :-). To those I haven't spoken to directly, I hope you had a merry christmas and I wish you a happy, healthy, prosperous, and blessed 2009 and beyond. One love, Keeva