Chronicles of a Mixed Chick

2016 was a mixed bag of a lot of things. The one thing that stuck out the most: how much time I spent 30,000ft above the ground. I thought it'd be cool to "chronicle" my time in the air, and on the ground, and what may (or may not) be in store for 2017! ☺ Key West, FL - January 4th - 9th First trip of the New Year. It was not the warmest weather that southern Florida could've provided for us, however it was fun. The hotel was right on a canal so we had a "water view" every day. The food was really good and I don't think I've ever walked up and down Duval St. as many times as I did within these 5 days. The Flying Monkey was the most commonly visited "spot", the Hemingway House was cool, but I can live without all of the cats that were there, and the ghost tours were cheesy but cool overall.   Seattle, WA - February 5th - 7th I love this place! Despite having the most severe allergic reaction to the detergent used by the hotel

As I scroll through my timeline and fight back the inevitable tears (and putting my fist through a wall… anger issues, I know. I’m working on them), I mourn and think, “Is this REALLY real life”? I didn’t think it was possible to feel so many emotions all at once. However, we knew this was a strong possibility and I’ll admit that I am not shocked by this result. That alone makes me so sad. I’m afraid . As an African American, I’m not regarded as human because of the color of my skin. I’m afraid . As a woman, I’m told by those who don’t have my body parts what I should be doing with my body parts. I’m afraid . As an LGBT human, what the shape of my future family could (now) look like and those at the top exuding all resources so that they can prevent my basic human right to be happy. I’m afraid . But I am not shocked. We knew in the deepest parts of our gut that this could happen. We knew that there were members of our families; our social

Another day. Another week. Another month. Another unarmed black man... murdered. Before this continues, let me start off by disclaiming this is ONLY my opinion (some points are supported by actual facts), but this by no means is geared towards changing your mind on anything that is written in this post. My goal is to open your eyes where you may have been afraid to, even if only during the time you're reading this (for which I am appreciative if you make it to the end of this). My warning to you... this may be intense. Unless you've been living under a fairly large rock or purposely avoiding the news lately, a 49ers quarterback has been, for lack of a better phrase, "stirring the pot". Yes, I purposely left his name out for the mere fact that if you actually read the name, you'd stop reading the post. << method to madness, please continue >> It's popped up quite a bit on my social media feeds over the last few weeks which warranted a resp

Stuck... just stuck. Between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Please understand this... if you continue to read this (which I hope you will), this will only give you a window from one perspective... mine. These are not super solid facts, but they are rooted mostly in common sense, and since this has been weighing heavily on my heart, a blog post was the only way I could see to express what was in it. this... so accurate It's difficult to not go online and see what people are saying/posting, especially after the horrific events that occurred in Orlando this past weekend. You try to avoid it, but one post leads to another, one click leads you to another link, and another link... you get it. The outpouring of love, support that has stemmed from this makes my heart smile (slightly) through this tragedy. But with everything else in this world, with the good comes the ugly... the REAL ugly. When a presidential nominee (might have thrown up in my mouth a little bit writing that

The obvious says: "If you had told me that in my 'mid' 30s I'd be going back to school to get my masters, I would've thought you were crazy!".... Well a great deal of it holds true. Actually, all of it holds true. When I finished my undergrad in 2004 (damn!), I was DONE!… or so I thought. My first masters class starts in 2 days and a part of me just wants to get through the first day jitters and get them over with. omg. Omg. OMG! I'm not THAT scared. Nope. I'm petrified, in the best way possible. Being out of a classroom for 10+ years has a way of putting all of your fears to the forefront of your mind. For example, the thought of being in a class with those who are just out of undergrad… Though it's not a bad thing, I'm sure at some point, I will feel my age. Then again, my "experience" brings something unique to the table that these youngins can learn from. Respect your elders, young one   For those that don't kno

For most of you reading this and know me, you know that my allergies are... a lot. <-- and that's putting it "mildly". For as long as I can remember, I've been allergic to life, except peanut butter. I still haven't been able to figure that one out. Anyway, over the course of my 30+ years, I've been asked a variety of questions about my allergies (food and year round... nope, I don't get seasonal. That's an every day occurrence for me... yay.) .  As I've grown and started to understand what I can and cannot do when it comes to my allergies, some of these questions I've been asked went from far fetch to "are you serious?". So here are a few you should NEVER say to someone with severe allergies... EVER! I mean, EVER! It's all in your head. Tell that to my hives & closing throat next time I have an allergy attack that it's  "all in my head". If you expose yourself to your allergen, your body wil