Apearl's Blog

This has been a very BIG year for me. I have so many major things happen and have lost some people close to me. I've decided to do a recap of 2007 in my own words. The blessings, sacrifices, happiness, pain and sorrow. As you read my review please think of all 2007 brought your way. Thursday Jan. 4 - This was a huge day in my life... I'm tearing up thinking about it. I buried my father on this day. A little background: I was re-introduced, I don't like to say re-united, with my father in the fall of 2006. My mother divorced him in 1985 and we slowly lost contact. He had a personal struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. He even was homeless for a while. I remember talking to him on the phone and hearing him cry because he missed so much in our lives (my sister and I). He showed me that parents are people too. Two weeks before Christmas he was rushed to the hospital by his girlfriend and was placed in the ICU with a lung infection. We were warned the infection was not resp...

I finally did it! LOL I started writing a book. I will also start typing my hand written work so I can put it into a book too. I so proud of myself. It'll probably take me a while considering I haven't written anything other than poems and stuff off the top of my head in many years. I know what I want the book to portray and the characters personalities to be. So I have a starting place. Look forward to seeing my book on book shelves near you. I have no idea how to go about publishing a book, but will cross that bridge when I get to that point. Right now I'm working on both books and plan to have both at publishing phase in 2008. A recap for any readers who don't know. I've been writing since elementary school. My mother has some of my very first work. I use to fill spiral notebooks with stories and poems. In high school I didn't write as much. Though I did keep a very detailed journal. In college I picked up writing again. I have been plannin...

I have done a ton of thinking the last few weeks. I haven't posted in while because of this. There was a lot going on and then I was traveling for a week. Since I've been back I haven't been in the greatest of moods and didn't have anything positive to post about. I have been thinking about so much stuff. I don't know where to begin. People never stop amazing me. From the wonderful things they do, to the horrible things they do. The world is an amazing thing. Humans are amazing creatures. All the technology we have compared to 100 years ago. Evolution is amazing. A singles persons growth / evolution is amazing. I don't think I really thought about it until I had my daughter. Watching her go from a little helpless being to walking and talking was amazing. Now to see her reading and writing blows my mind. These facts has me thinking of what makes a person who they are. I've always thought that people become who they are from their experiences and ...

Today is World AIDS Day. It is observed on December 1st. The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention as a means to draw attention to the relatively new epidemic. The idea has since been taken up by governments, international organizations and charities around the world, who create events that together serve as an annual international reminder that we must all work together to bring an end to the AIDS epidemic. Since 1995 the President of the United States has made an official proclamation on World AIDS Day. Governments of other nations have followed suit and issued similar announcements. From 1988 until 2004, UNIAIDS spearheaded the World AIDS Day campaign, choosing annual themes in consultation with other global health organizations. In 2005 this responsibility was turned over to World AIDS Campaign , who chose Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise as the main theme for World AIDS Day observances through 201...

Today has been a rough day. I don't mean since I woke up either! I mean since my sleep was overly interrupted last night. There's so much on my mind right now. I've talked to the two people I can talk to about anything. These two people know how to listen and comment without being judgemental or opinionated. I feel better because I was able to say what is bothering me., what happened last night and today. These things have me frustrated, upset, confused, hurt, emotional and spiritually tired. I do not want to go into details because it's not worth what may happen or how I may feel about sharing it later. I think about the things I've been through in my life. From being raised by mother who left an abusive marriage to protect my sister and I. To going to live in a different state with my sister at 15 because my mother and I couldn't get along. To finding my way when I didn't know what a way was. To being an A student in high school without trying to a flunki...

I have decided to comprise a list of my favorite things of this year. I'm biting Oprah, but mines a tad bit different! I will still do my end of the year rap up at the end of December. Food : Cake w/ buttercream frosting Comfort Food : Chocolate Cake Fast Food : McDonald's French Fries Drink : Dr. Pepper Alcoholic Drink : Midori Sour Smell : Bubble gum Perfume : Juicy Couture Cologne : Guess Color : Pink Hair Product : Palmer's Olive Oil Spray Facial Cleanser : MAC Feeling : Love Thought : My daughter's growth Sound : Being told "I love you" Quote : "You are a better person and we all can see that." Website : Facebook New (to me) Website : theKnot New CD : Alicia Keys "As I am" Old CD : Lauryn Hill "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" R&B Artist : Beyonce Rap Artist : T.I. Store To Shop In : New York & Co. Store To Get A Bargain : Macy's Gift given : A gift I thought out and gave from my h...

I have several pet peeves which anyone who knows me can tell you. I'm going to share with you the definition before discussing mine. A pet peeve is defined as is a minor annoyance that can instill great frustration in an individual. Pet peeves involve complaints about specific behaviors, rather than general dissatisfaction. They often involve specific behaviors of someone close, such as a spouse or significant other. These behaviors may involve disrespect, manners, personal hygiene, relationships, and family issues. Often a pet peeve will seem illogical to others. Here are some of mine: Whinny grown folks! AHHHH I swear this is my biggest pet peeve for several reasons. First off, it is annoying as all hell! Most of the time they are whining about stuff that is a part of life. Bills, traffic, family and other things that WE ALL deal with. Or things that come with a situation. Like if you live in a dorm setting why complain about those in the building playing music loud or ...

I like movies. Not as much as my husband who goes to the theater a lot. There are several movies I am excited to see in the upcoming year. I'm known for learning as much as I can about a movie before seeing it. Sex and The City Movie - May 30, 2008 I am a BIG no HUGE fan of the show. I am SO excited about the movie. The best part, atleast for me, is that Jennifer Hudson is in it! She is playing Carrie's assistant. If you are a fan of the show, now in serious reruns, you know that African-Americans were not often on the show. Blair Underwood was Miranda's love interest in the last season. Other than that "we" were rare just like we were on the TV show Friends. There are many articles and pictures around the Internet about the movie, which started filming this past September. There are pictures of Carrie in a wedding dress, that fits the character's personality so well, and the other ladies in different color gowns outside of a NYC church. Everyone believes t...

Today the world celebrated Thanksgiving. This is when we normally contemplate what we are thankful for. Like everyone else I asked myself this question. I am thankful for being alive to celebrate another Thanksgiving. My father and close friend Denita were not able to. I am thankful for my family. Even though we are not exactly normal or get along all the time, I am glad to have them in my life. I am thankful for my husband. The love and patience her has for / with me. I am very thankful for my sister, TC, she is my best friend and ALWAYS there when I need her. My husband and sister make my days easier and brighter. I am thankful for being able to see my daughter grow. She still amazes me with how much of a 'person' she is. As much as I have learned her personality I see it develop more and more each day. I am thankful for being a better person than I was a few years ago, even last year. I am continually growing into a better person. I know I'm NOT perfect b...

Yes I know I am one! I really need to start writing, in some form, everyday! Especially since I want to organize my poetry into book form and start writing a book in 2008! Practice will help. Though I have to practice! I left the company, again, that I was with off and on for 4 years two weeks ago tomorrow. The next day I started working for a close family friend who's an interior designer. She had asked me to come work for her but I kept hoping the other work situation would work out. I didn't really plan ahead on the quitting. I was having a rough day at work, which unfortunately had became normal. I called Redd in tears and he told me that if I wanted to I should quit. He's told me before, which he pointed out, but I always hoped for the best and stayed. He explained how much stress it was adding to my life which I didn't need! After I decided to really quit I actually had to tell them. They knew I was leaving whenever Redd got his duty station. That's what the...

Oct 15, 2007 As most of the you know Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married" made it's way to the movie theaters this weekend. I went and saw it today with my sister and niece. I truely enjoyed it. GO SEE IT!! I've seen the play and have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect from the movie. I was pleasantly suprised. As always I've talked about this subject / movie with some friends, male and female, and all seem to have enjoyed it. Even relate and see themselves and their current or past relationships in it. In the past few weeks, while doing the final preparations for our wedding and since the wedding, I've asked myself the movie title's question. I was also asked by people "How do you know you are ready to get married", " What made Him the One " and my favorite " Why ?!?" I've pondered these questions... Other than the normal: I love him and he loves me. I came up with: He completes me. The patience I h...

Oct 15, 2007 ~ "1 week Anniversary" Ok I know it's cheesy but I didn't have another title at the moment! Life as a newlywed is good... ok great! I love being HIS wife. Though honestly if it hadn't been for the BIG day and actually saying husband it wouldn't feel any different. Now don't go thinking I am minimizing marriage because I'm not and I'd do it again everyday (the wedding) if I could! I guess now that I'm actually married it is real and the reality of it is that it's not much different. I can see it being different for those couples who don't live together or/and don't have sexual relations before their wedding. Don't get me wrong I love the fact that I say my husband now! I love the fact that legally and to God we are officially a married couple! My days are certainly brighter as a result of all these things! I think sometimes in the planning and details of our weddings we do lose focus of our focal point. It...

Oct 9, 2007 ~ "I'm Married!" Well it's true! I am Mrs. Reginald!! It was so worth the stress and hard work. Even that day I had my mean moments but it went how I wanted and was beautiful. I even asked DH if we could do it again since it was so much fun! The best part is we got to share the wonderful time with our family and close friends and didn't have to break our wallet or empty our savings accounts to do so! I'm so in love with this man and to be able to show that to our families was great! DH even got teary eyed during our vows. I didn't make it through my first sentence without dropping a tear. I'm glad we wrote our own vows. Oh and all our DIY items turned out great. Our 2008 magnet calenders favors were a hit! We even got more quality time with each other and my daughter on Saturday evening when we finished our favors and her flower girl basket. I just wanted to share my thoughts on my wedding! Day two of marriage and I know everday w...

Saturday Oct 6, 2007 ~ "1 Day To Go" I've just walked in the door from my bachelorette party. It's officially one day away from our wedding! I'm excited. I'm thankful that I have a wonderful man to walk down the isle to. I really can not imagine waiting a year or more to have this day. Even though it was alot of work I'm happier planning our wedding in a short amount of time. It's made this event even more special and intimate. There was not enough time to argue with vendors and people who wanted to be invited. Well atleast not often LOL It's 2:39 am and I need to get up at 8:30 to pick up FI from the airport. But I don't want to go to sleep. I'm excited to see him after a month apart. I'm excited to put on my dress, tiara, and veil. I'm excited to read my personal vows to my love. I'M JUST FREAKING EXCITED!!!!!! I must say this to anyone reading this : Tomorrow is not promised. Make everyday meaningful and live it ...

Oct 1, 2007 ~ "6 days" Yes you read right I am a wonderful (depending on the moment) 6 days away from OUR BIG DAY! Let's just say over the last few days things haven't exactly gone the way they were planned. For starters we changed our catering order last week and I had just about stalk the venue coordinator to confirm it! On top of the fact that we were suppose to discuss final details on Friday, but my stalking didn't pay off until today! I was pissed but once I actually met with her I was ok. It was strange for me to have such a hard time getting in contact with her considering she is normally really prompt to respond to my emails or calls. My fiance' is still in Texas because of the Good Ole US Army. We had to buy him a last minute plane ticket so he would actually be present on OUR DAY! So instead of several days of enjoying each other's company we will only have Saturday to Monday. No honeymoon right away because of recent events we have no id...

Sept 26, 2007 ~ "Patience" I am so impatient! I can NOT wait for these last 11 days to go by! I am trying to slowly do the two items I have left to do: make my bouquet and decorate my daughters flower basket! I really am not good at waiting on something I work hard toward. Like when I graduated from college I ignored the fact I was finishing because I was driving myself crazy the last two months thinking about it. Though the day of, during the commencement, the tears came. I was a mother 3 out of the 5 years I was in college and even though I had alot of family help, it was hard. I'm expecting an overflow of emotion on OUR wedding day! I am not an emotional person, well normally I'm not. I cry when I'm sad or upset, but not at sad movies or things like that. Of course this isn't including during PMS LOL. So I'm waiting on the BIG day and my tears to come. Next week is going to be a big week. FI comes here from Texas on Tuesday. We haven't se...

Sept 22, 2007 ~ "Two Weeks 1 Day!" The clock is ticking... I'm so excited. Things are falling into place so well. So well I've started forgetting I changed my wedding date only a few weeks ago! The assistant pastor of the church I grew up in agreed to be our officiant. My mother suprised me and bought my daughters flower girl dress and all her accessories. Then did the same for all my accessories, from tiara to shoes. Meanwhile we were at the bridal shop to choose her dress LOL. I was so thankful because that leaves us money to do something we really wanted to! We had originally planned to have a noon wedding / reception and then a "party" reception later that evening with our friends. Minus the mom's and older folks =) But because of our tight timeline and date we had X'd that idea. Now we can, thanks to good-ole momma. We will not do it to the extent we originally planned because there are several people dear to us unable to attend our ...

Sept 18, 2007 ! "My Calm B4 The Storm" My stress level is actually decreasing the closer the wedding gets! Which suprises me especially since we officially changed our date to Oct 7th on Sept 5th! Yes, I gave myself a month to put it together! Things are working out quite well and I had one of my last meetings with the venue, photographer and coordinator. Of course I went with a venue where there are all at already, to save me time and stress! I decided not to go with their florist for my bouquet because I am going to try to DIY. I've been researching it and think I can pull it off. I wanted to do more parts myself but the time restriction is hindering that. Plus calla lillies are what I want but need to actually play with it a bit. Since we decided not make our bridal party rush and buy their dresses and tuxs, we are not using them in our ceremony and don't have to worry about their flowers. I do still have a to do list... Guest book, wedding book, order our favors,...

Sept 16, 2007 ~ "My eyes are on the prize" Why when you look at a wedding, it seems so simple? I guess it's like the skyscrapers downtown, many days and many people went into building it, but you only see the end result when you drive past. As a result of moving my wedding date WAY up, I am in a mad dash for the details of it all! I have gotten many opions on this subject which is what got me thinking about all of this. I am trying to enjoy this wedding process, but I'm realizing more everyday that it is about me and my love sharing a very important moment in our lives with the ones we love. Do I care about certain traditional elements being involved... HELL NO ! Do I feel I have to hand write every address on every envelope of my invitations... Double Hell No ! Do I care about the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with standing next to me as we declare our love for each other.... Super Dupper Yes ! I guess I just don't understand the level of extremes...

This was my first wedding blog! Originally posted on Sept 9, 2007 I've been dealing with alot and decided to use this as an outlet for it all. I've been writing in many forms since I was 9 so it's a natural outlet for me. If someone reads this that's great, if not cool. As it says on my profile I am engaged to a recently re-inlisted Army man. I am honestly not the biggest military fan. Not trying to sound non-patriotic but I've never been a fan of moving your family around every few years. Other than that I do understand that someone's got to do every job that exist. Anyway we were engaged on 4th of July so were planning for a 4th of July weekend wedding in 08. Though while FI has been in training in Texas I've decided to move it up because I didn't see the point in waiting so long. Plus I'm naturally a "I want what I want when I want it" type of girl. (Youngest by 10 years and very spoiled since I was born! LOL Gotta love me th...

Original writen on Jan. 6, 2007 As some of you may know I lost my father on Christmas. His funeral was Thursday morning and later that day I received the knews of Denita's death. The sorrow and pain my heart felt doubled. I could not understand why these two people had to leave this earthly life. The main comfort I have in their deaths is knowing they both were Christains. The fact they started their eternal lives in heaven helps ease my pain some. The sorrow I have for my father is one of a daughter, but my sorrow for Denita is different. The two of us being the same age and having many similarities hits home! This past summer I spent alot of time with her. Many of our conversations about life, love, NCCU and God replay in my head. I have learned things from both my father and Denita. My father taught me every person is human first and formorst. Each person has internal struggles and issues they face in addtion to the external ones. Everything you do has a result that ef...

I'm finally going to put all my blogs and notes in one spot! Advance warning there will be several post coming with previous dates on them. I'll try to put them in order so it's not confusing! A little about me: I am a newlywed! I married my wonderful husband Redd on October 7th, 2007! He is currently serving our country in the Army. I am the proud mother of five year old girl. I was born in Atlanta and went to college in North Carolina. I graduated from NC Central University in 2005. I moved back to ATL in 2006. My hobbies are writing and photography. I also enjoy scrap booking , shopping (probably it too much) and music. I am excited to finally have it all in one spot!