Life and Times of Ms. Ellis

OH DEAR LORD

2016-05-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

I may be THEE most randomest (I meant to say that) person on Earth...

So today I logged into Facebook and noticed several of my "Facebook Friends" posting loonnngggg exaggerated prayers as their status.

"Oh Dear Lord, protect my family, oh Dear Lord, protect my dog, oh Dear Lord bless my finances, oh Dear Lord this, oh Dear Lord that."

Sooooo……. I began to wonder. I wondered why these few people feel the need to log into a web browser of some sort to offer their prayer to God each day?

I have no idea why I even care if people are praying on social media. After all, they are praying, right? These people aren't hurting anyone, and by all means, if they are actually saying the prayer, it could quite possibly help someone. Right?

But here’s the thing…….

It’s not like the person is directing their prayer to their Facebook friends, they are talking to God….

Like seriously, talking to God as if He has a Facebook profile. I need answers Sway!

Even after trying to reason with myself as I typed this entire blog post, I still don’t get it! The fact that people log onto their computers or hand held cellular devices to TYPE a personal prayer to GOD, baffles me every time I see it.

I guess they should log into the Bible app and read Matthew 6 verse 5-6 instead of Facebook......

To the Windows to the Walls!!!! Vacation Horror Story. Coldwell Banker Vacation Rentals Ocean City Maryland

2015-09-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today, on one of the last warm days of September, I sat at my computer and reflected on many of this month’s highs and lows. It then dawned on me that I had a vacation at the beginning of this month that I wanted to share with everyone!! I vacationed at one of my favorite places. Ocean City Maryland. Ha, I know, plain right? I always have a great time here!! My entire family decided to continue our tradition of closing the summer out with a bang in a local place. 2 months prior, I went online, reviewed several house rental options for I have children and this is easier than staying in a hotel. I found an unit advertised with Coldwell Banker in Ocean City, not far away from the beach. I reviewed the pictures, it looked like a nice place, and so I decided to book the rental.

Since OC Maryland is one of my local favorite places to vacation, I’d done business with Coldwell Banker several times before and was pleased. So I called, booked the vacation rental and everything went extremely well with the booking process.

Upon arrival, I went to the office located 11911 Coastal Highway Ocean City Maryland. The office is attached to the Seven Eleven-convenience store. Although I’d used Coldwell Banker before, never had I used this office in particular. The staff was very friendly and check in went very fast and smooth.

I rented the unit located 161 Captain Quarters Road, Ocean City Maryland. The development is named Harbour Sails III. The townhouse unit number is 1. (Yes the spelling is the way it is listed) This unit is in walking distance to the 119^th Street entrance of the beach, and the Green Turtle, a very nice sports bar. It had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a powder room.

When I pulled up to the unit, I was immediately disappointed. The home itself did not have a broken screen door but the unit connected to the home’s balcony had a broken screen door, which was off of the track. Sitting in front of the large broken sliding screen door on the connected balcony there were large black trash bags filled with what I assumed was trash. It was a complete eye sore.

When I entered into the home, it looked very dusty, and had a very foul and appalling smell. It smelled very musty. The home was nicely decorated, however it was very dirty. The living room area rug was not vacuumed; there were stains on the master bedroom’s comforter. The home was dusty throughout the entire unit. There were crumbs and debris all over the kitchen counters. There were stacked up pots and pans on the stove. The bathrooms had stained rings around the toilet bowls.

I called the cleaning company (as the check in instructions had suggested if the home was not cleaned) and they dispatched someone to come clean the home. Once the cleaning ladies arrived they informed me that a plumber had just been in the unit working on the kitchen sink and must have left the debris on the kitchen counter tops. The kitchen sink was separated from the cabinetry leaving a gaping hole between the sink and the cabinetry. The ceiling fan in the dining room was separated from the ceiling and was not properly attached. The popcorn ceiling was peeling above the dining room table. The cleaning company also informed me that someone had just come out to clean the unit that morning before we checked in. I am unsure as to what they cleaned because it was very dirty. There was cereal on the kitchen floor (Cheerios) to be exact. The cleaning company asked me to go and enjoy the beach and when we returned we should see a vast difference.

We decided to go and grab a bite to eat. When we returned the home was dusted, cleaned and vacuumed it appeared to be acceptable enough for a short weekend stay. The strong musty odor was present still, however, my mother in law decided to Febreeze the entire unit, which masked the smell enough for us to go to bed. Before I showered I noticed black moldy spots on the wall/ ceiling in the master bedroom that connected to the master bedroom/ shower. The showerhead was rusty and separated from the wall in the master bedroom and the hot water took 15 minutes to get warm.

The next morning, I called the rental office to let them know that I was not happy with the unit and I advised them that we would like to be switched. The rental agent told me that I could in fact be switched to another unit, however, I would have to pay the cost of the rental she would need to find, as well as lose all of the money I had already paid for the unit we were currently staying in. I told her that we would indeed pay to be moved; the home was unacceptable for us. She asked me to give her a few minutes to search for a last minute property. When she called back, she told me that she could not find anything and that the owner was willing to give us $100.00 back for our inconvenience if we decided to stay. Since we came with a group of people (staying in various locations in OC MD) we decided to suck it up and stay.

On Sunday afternoon, my family and I returned to the home from an outing to notice the kitchen floor was wet, and the rug had been saturated with water. We scrambled to get the water up, and noticed it was coming from under the kitchen sink. My husband went under the sink and noticed a rusty pipe leaking. Under the pipe someone (maybe the plumber that was just in the unit) had placed a cooking pot under the leaking pipe to catch the water that drained from the sink. The pot of course had been filled with water from the sink and began to overflow. I called the emergency number for maintenance and the worker informed me that unless it was a flood, or a fire than they could not get anyone out to the unit to fix the kitchen sink. (The kitchen had actually flooded) He then proceeded to tell me to empty the pot of old, nasty water and place it back under the sink! I told him under no circumstance was I doing that and he became very rude, letting me know that I was responsible for the unit and either I do not use the kitchen sink for the duration of my stay or empty the pot. So we did not use the kitchen sink. When I got off the telephone with the plumber I called my rental agent and they informed me that they could not believe that this was happening because the owner is a very good owner who takes care of his property. She said that they property was very well taken care of and it sounded as if she was calling me a liar.

After the conversation with both the maintenance man and rental agent, I decided to scour the Internet for reviews. Lo and behold, I found a review online from the person who stayed in the rental the week prior to us on August 29^th. She had written a very detailed YELP review that listed the same concerns I listed. Not only did she have almost identical issues with the unit, but also the trash she complained about in the nightstand drawer in the master bedroom was still present on the Sunday evening before I was to checkout on Monday morning. Click here to see review and pictures

Fast forward to check out, I get to the office the minute it opened to check out, and the staff was very unfriendly. They looked at me as if I had to heads on my neck and proceeded to tell me that they could not believe what happened. I proceeded to show them the review from the week before and they looked dumb founded. I was given a number of a supervisor to contact.

Once I returned home, I called my agent Terry Miller who was very apologetic of all that had occurred, but still let me know of her disbelief of the owner ‘s inability to upkeep his property because he was a very good owner. I asked her if there was any way that I could be compensated for my horrible stay at one of their (Coldwell Banker’s) properties, and she told me that she would contact the owner and see what he says.

She called me back and told me that she would get me an additional $100.00 back totaling $225.00. I told her that I would accept that. She proceeded to tell me that if I accepted the $225.00 back, I could not write a blog post or Yelp review detailing my trip. I told her that I could not do that. She sent me a disclosure via email to review and told me that my refund for my horrible trip was contingent on me not writing a review. I told her how unfair I thought that was and that I would not sign a disclosure. To date, Coldwell Banker refunded me $100.00 for a horrible trip. I paid a total of $868.77 Friday at 3pm-Monday at 8:30am. She wouldn’t even offer ½ back. I told her that the refund should not be contingent on my review, but a form of compensation for such an awful experience. I told her that I would not write any untrue information in my blog post, however, until today, the last day in September, the disclosure remains unsigned, and my refund was just $100.00

Disclosure/ Release of Claims Form

To attach blame to the consumer who has concrete proof and a detailed account of such circumstances, I found it ridiculous that such a reputable company like Coldwell Banker handled this situation as they did. I felt that they placed the blame of a horrible trip on the consumer, and attempted to silence my review instead of attempting to actually rectify the situation that occurred. As I stated to the agent, I didn’t expect a total refund for we stayed at the property, however I did expect such a reputable company to address the issues, fix them and try to compensate adequately.

Life Line!!!! (3 until I am Mrs. Mamie Till)

2014-08-14T07:34:00.001-07:00

Dear All African American Leaders,

I am a middle class (if that still exsists) mother of 3 African American BOYS in an already racially charged neighborhood in Pennsylvania.

I am unaware how I am expected to have a conversation with my children to tell them to be safe when they are going off to school in 2 weeks. They are inundated with press coverage of all of the killings of people that look like them, from people that I tell them to run to if ever they need assistance and I am not available.

Who should I tell them to run to if they are followed in their neighborhood for wearing a hooded shirt for warmth!!!??!! Should I tell my soon to be 13 year old son to put his hands up, or down? Should I tell him to walk slow or swift? Should I teach him of his 2nd amendment right to bear arms and shoot now and ask questions later? To be judge by 12 peers on a jury or carried by 6 of his peers in a casket? What do we do?????

I feel there is NO safe haven for African American Boys across this country. I am passionate about this issue and would love to assist individuals in Ferguson and anywhere else this issue is a concern.... I am afraid that it is too much of a concern everywhere!!!!

Ms. Ellis

YOU people.....

2014-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

I am in awe at the overwhelming amount of support that the African American community has extended to individuals such as Trayvon Martin, Micheal Brown, Troy Davis, Eric Garner, John Crawford whom are ALL BLACK men who were killed unjustly for the crime of just being black in America. People all over the country have made these cases a focal point via social media but when is enough awareness enough? When does siting in our comfy chairs in our enjoyable homes or our complacent desk jobs tweeting, or blogging about social injustice become enough? Why aren't we mobilizing and demanding justice for these individuals???? Why are we rioting and tearing up our own communities???? I am soooo confused at why we allow things that are wrong to continue. I have sons, ALL BLACK, ALL born and will be raised in America and I am outraged that the unjustly killing of ANY individual is NOT more of just a statement made on television to our political "leaders" of our country. I am outraged that the message that WE are sending to my 3 sons, my brothers, my nephews is that while the BRUTAL killing of these men are unfair, there is not much that can or will be done about it!!!! If I were a black man living in this unGodly country, I would feel that my life does NOT even matter! Political figures, police departments, etc.....are devaluing what should be the corner stone of our very existence! The Black Male!!!!!

Dead man walking?

2013-11-16T04:47:00.001-08:00

Sooooo this morning I woke up to the sweet sound of my youngest heir echoing loudly through his baby monitor. Instead of running to retrieve him from his room I laid in my bed slightly hearing the baby coos and babble for a minute to reflect...

I could not stop thinking of a text my friend sent to me the night before asking my thoughts on the quote below:

"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

While Dr. King is an amazing man and many of the words that he spoke was eloquent and motivating, I disagreed.

If a man has not yet found himself and he does not have any family living should he be deemed NOT fit to live? In my mind, God does not make mistakes and if He created this man then surely that man is fit to live. Right?

OK the reality of my "reflection" time this morning checked me.....

I am sooooo wrong. While I listened to the sweet sound of my son I began thinking of my father. The man that donated his sperm to the wonderful creation that I am. I've laid eyes on the man 3-4 times in my life that I can remember and unfortunately 1 of the times counted above he was inside of a coffin.

While I didn't know him or the list of things that were a priority for him I do believe that I was not. Sooooo knowing my son was depending on me to rescue him from his baby jail we call his crib I couldn't imagine how a man or woman can NOT find a just cause to lay his/her life down for. Even if it's for a babbling child clutching the crib bedding screaming to be rescued.

Just like that. ... I was wrong. Brother Martin was right. .... (in my mind)

If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live. (In my opinion)

Have you found a cause that you are willing to lay your life down for? Are you a dead man walking?

The Angry Black Woman

2013-09-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

For years, I used to think that the angry black woman existed only in the minds of people that have been scorned by or had issues with women who just happened to be black. So, I’d say, ok maybe she was angry? Maybe she had every right to be? But why does that make her THE angry black woman? Any woman can get to that “angry” place, do we, as black women, get a bad rap because we will sharply give you a hard bold roll of the eyes complimented by matching neck movements?

In college, I remember taking an English Literature class where we studied the angry black woman for almost a week. After we watched video clip after video clip of women that were black who were sucking their teeth and rolling their neck and eyes, I still could not for the life of me understand WHO the angry black woman was. I argued points to state that the angry black woman did not exist at all. I argued that it was an exaggerated stereotype that Hollywood directors branded to create movie characters.

And while I still agree that Hollywood has exaggerated this stereotype, I have come to realize in recent years, in my adult life, that the angry black woman DOES exist. I began to run into the ANGRY BLACK WOMAN. (Over and over again) The angry black woman was everywhere!! The angry black woman wears many faces. She IS the woman you cut off in the grocery store. She is the woman who has been scorned by different men. She is the single mother of 5 bad kids whose father(s) is nowhere to be found. She is the woman whose mother forced her, at an early age, to give her child up for adoption. She is the woman whose father molested her and her siblings; she is all of this and so much more. She has every reason to be angry, but there is no excuse for being THE angry black woman.

Without realizing it, she wants people to be miserable like she is. She wants to see your relationship fail, she wants to see your children fail or your friendships in utter chaos. She isn’t happy with anything. She complains about most things and she can always be found harboring some type of drama. She is bitter, angry, condescending, rude, mean and selfish.

I hate the ANGRY BLACK WOMAN. While I understand that coping with a great amount of struggle and hardship will take it’s toll on any individual, the way we handle the struggle and hardship defines who we are. To keep relying on THE ANGRY BLACK WOMAN defense mechanism is total bulls#!T . (For lack of a better term)

Yes it is true that our past makes up who we are in the present but if that person that you have become makes you a confrontational, irrational, emotional/less wench…. You cannot honestly want people to like you. Be around you, want to build relationships with YOU… the real YOU, NOT THE REPRESENTATIVE that you send when you are trying to impress people. If I hate you and I haven’t met you…. imagine what your friends and family are feeling about you.

I hate meeting this woman over and over again. As a whole we must do better. I charge all women, whether you are Black, White, Yellow, or Brown to examine yourself and determine if you have become that ANGRY BLACK WOMAN. If so, you must let go of your bitter past and understand that every person that offers you advice (that does not agree with what you believe) does not hate you! You have to stop internalizing constructive criticism and thinking that anyone saying something to you does not understand your circumstances. You have to constructively rebuild from positive outlets. Seek counseling, find someone to confide in, try to unconditionally love you.

What ever you do…. vow not to be/ or become THE ANGRY BLACK WOMAN!

Operation CLEAN UP WOMAN (Your loss)

2012-05-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

DEAR LADIES,

What you won't do, someone else will! I would like to begin this blog post by thanking Betty Wright for schooling women of all ages of the CLEAN UP WOMAN!!!

The clean up woman... is woman who gets all the love we girls leave behind!

So this letter is to the ladies who know they messed up in their previous relationship and want nothing more out of life than to see that man unhappy!

MOVE ON LOSER!! GET A LIFE, GET A MAN, PLEASE.... Get a drink! Get something but GET over IT!

Ladies, he wants to move on. He wants to enjoy his life NOT including you. So do yourself a favor and NOT do the following things:

1. DO NOT use your child/ children as pawns.
** If he is a good man, good father, good person in general you are making him HATE YOU! **

2. DO NOT let him know that you are desperate.
**Your rebuttals (any of them) about his "NEW WOMAN" will tell him immediately that you are screaming for attention!

3. DO NOT reach out to the "NEW WOMAN" trying to give her advice... she is not in a relationship with you, you aren't friends, (hopefully your not) you aren't cousins (please God don't be) and she has NO ties to you!
**You really look stupid, even if you have good intentions in mind.... and you may get hurt**

4. DO NOT keep in touch with his parents.... chances are they don't even like you for doing #1!!!
**Just remain cordial for the sake of the kids**

What you should do is....... light a couple of candles, grab a glass a wine, click on the video below, listen to the lyrics and sulk.... go sit in the corner, lick your wounds & read OPERATION MONKEY BUSINESS!

Love & Kisses,

Ms. Ellis

Written by,

Ms. Ellis

Is Watermelon Cornbread a great Affair Exchange?

2012-04-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

So.... a few months ago, one of my best friends starred in a stage play with the title being Watermelon Cornbread....

When I received the invitation I was a little disturbed by the title. One of the many reasons that I was disturbed is because my girlfriend had one of the lead roles in the play did not strike me as the shuck and jive type of artist. Another reason I was uncomfortable with attending the play was simply the title of the play.

"Watermelon Cornbread" although the title caught my attention because it was very catchy.....it also disturbed my mental to the point where I assumed that the entire stage play would be an overwhelming experience filled with blaxploitation and THAT I did not want to subject myself to.

Sooooo here she comes again several months later telling me that she had a cameo in another play written by the same play writer that wrote "Watermelon Cornbread!" Unfortunately for her, I began to judge the second play based on what I thought of the first.

The title of the second play that she had a cameo in was Affair Exchange. I decided to go to the play, and I have to say that I was BLOWN AWAY!!!! Affair Exchange far exceeded my expectations. There are a list of crucial itemized components that made Affair Exchange a hit stage play in my book!

1. The play began on time!!!

(How many times are you annoyed sitting in a packed tightly seated auditorium waiting for a show to start?) NOT HERE!!! 7:30 PM was SHOW TIME!

2. The BAND WAS AWESOME!!!!

(The music enhanced stage presence and engaged the audience unlike no other play that I have attended)

3. The play was very well written! The play writer engaged the audiences emotions!

(There were portions of the play where the audience was thrilled, angry, happy, sad, and shocked)

If the reviews that I am hearing from audience members who saw both Affair Exchange AND Watermelon Cornbread are accurate, I AM SUPER PUMPED to get a ticket to see WATERMELON CORNBREAD in it's ENCORE performance on May 26, 2012!!!

Kudos to the play writer Derrick Reed, the cast and DREEDENTERTAINMENT for putting together such a wonderful stage play!

Watermelon Cornbread should be a great AFFAIR EXCHANGE if you are looking to be entertained!

Check out THE ENCORE PERFORMANCE!!!!

Written by Ms. Ellis

MADE VISIBLE

2012-03-28T13:09:00.002-07:00

On Sunday March 18, 2012 broadcaster Tavis Smiley moderated a dynamic all women panel to discuss the new face of poverty......

Women and children!!!

The nationally televised discussion was held from 4:00 Pm to 6:00 Pm at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The event was sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers and New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The event was free and open to the public.

Tavis stated the reason that he felt this needed to be discussed now is because "To be fully human, we cannot allow mothers and children to live in poverty amidst the backdrop of America's corporate prosperity. "

As I sat front row in a packed auditorium listening to the 8 phenomenal panelist discuss their views on reasons and solutions for the rising poverty of women in children, I found myself wanting to jump from my seat and shout at many of the comments that were being made by the panelist.

Cecilia Fire Thunder, is a nurse, tribal community health advocate and former president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe (THE FIRST WOMAN ELECTED TO THAT POSITION) stated that as president of a tribal commnity, the women and children had no idea what the recession was! The citizens of the tribal community heard the hoopla over the ending of the recession and they were intrigued on what a recession actually entailed. The women and children live in such deplorable conditions on the daily basis that they were not affected by the recession at all!

As I sat and listened to the comments of the uniquely diverse panel, I could not help but to think are we living in America? Are there some citizens actually living their day to day lives as if they were in a 3rd world country?

Dr. Julianne Malveaux, a noted economist and 15th president of Bennett College for Women. (America's oldest historically Black college for women) stole the show with her dynamic views on how poverty among women and children are affecting the face of education.

Suze Orman, America's leading authority on personal finance provided comedic relief by adding that she is a honorary African American Woman, trapped inside of a Caucasian women's body. She and Tavis joked about his stealing her coined phrase that was used when she was a participating panelist on his symposium in January titled "Remaking America".

"There is a highway into poverty, but not even a sidewalk to get out of it!"

If you were not fortunate enough to view the original broadcast of Made Visible.... do not fret! Tune in to PBS March 28, 2012- March 30, 2012 for the rebroadcast!

Check your local television station for times may vary!

Ms. Ellis

Operation Mr. Wrong (You are what you attract)

2012-03-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

OPERATION MR. WRONG!!!

Have you ever wondered why you end up in the same type of relationship each time that you meet someone new?

Have you noticed that the "NEW" guy that you are dealing with has many of the same qualities that your previous man had?

Are you attracted to the same type of men. The man that has to be "YOUR TYPE"? He has to be tall, light, and well groomed?

If you are anything like me you do......

The last two relationships that I engaged in were definitely almost identical to each other with subtle good and bad things that were different.

The guys weren't identical in actions, but they both had similarities. There was even a time when the "NEW" guy and I ran into the "OLD" guy, and they were wearing the exact same shirt at the exact same time. Although I chuckled at the time and thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world, once I ended the relationship with the "OLD NEW" guy..... I didn't think it was as funny. I immediately began to re-evaluate my choices.

I began to wonder why it was that I ended up with the same guy over and over again. I began to evaluate where it was that I was meeting these guys who weren't bad people, but they were bad choices for me.

One was light, one was dark.... both similar facial features and facial hair. Their style of dress was remarkably the same. Even if one of them did not dress totally the way I liked, I found myself influencing that person's style of dress.

So looking at these two men that I had chosen to be in serious relationships with over the years, I begin to notice that it was not so much the gentlemen that picked me, but that I had picked them. It was what I attracted.

Most of what I thought were negative aspects of both of the relationships were things that I myself felt were negative attributes that I myself possessed.

The law of attraction states that "Likes ATTRACT Likes"......

Speaking to someone who I would like to refer as a very wise man asked me "If you keep attracting the same "TYPE" of men, what is it about you that you aren't attracting other "TYPES" of men." That question sent my mind deep into thought.

So ladies, it's not the fact that Mr. Wrong keeps finding you. YOU are finding them. You should evaluate yourself, your choices, your character to make sure that you are reflecting the image that you want to attract.

OPERATION MR.WRONG..... you are what you attract!

Ms. Ellis will tell us!

2012-03-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

I am embarking on new experiences and revelations in my life. Although I have learned many new things, I understand that life is a continuous journey of life lessons. I thought that it would be a wonderful idea to share my thoughts with women who may take the lessons that I learned and use them to benefit themselves from it.

So for the next few post.... I will address many issues that many women especially in the African American community face and how they are facing them. If we knew better we would do better!

So tune in over the next couple of weeks as Ms. Ellis tells us..........

A Time to Celebrate (Tia Pittman Edition)

2012-01-26T22:13:00.000-08:00

There is a time and season for every activity under the heavens. A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build. A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up. A time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak.........

At this time I am taking the opportunity to speak about the time to celebrate! So often we celebrate people at the end of their life span. When they are lying in a coffin before us and we are crying crocodile tears thinking of all the things that we could of, should of, or would have done for that individual. At this present moment, I feel compelled to salute (literally stand, place my small right hand at the tip of my large head and remove it) an individual that has not only impacted my life, but the lives of all of that she encounters. She is a true specimen of what a strong African American woman embodies. She has faced many turmoils and trials in this life and she continues to forge ahead despite them all. I want to salute the person she is, but more over I want to celebrate the person she is becoming!

The church was a very important part of Tia’s life and it helped cultivate her many gifts. Growing up she has been blessed to sit under various gospel artists such as the late great Marion Williams of the Clara Ward singers, Mattie Moss Clark, Twinkie Clark, John P. Kee and Kirk Franklin just to name a few.

Tia’s God given gift to sing afforded her the opportunity to work with many established and well known artist which include: Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, Kenny Lattimore, Lauryn Hill, Tatyana Ali, and Philly’s Boyz II Men just to name a few. Tia was also an artist with Atlantic Records where she continued to collaborate with other artists who are well established in the music industry. As a result, she has traveled internationally with longtime friend and classmate Bilal.

There was a time in Tia’s career when God ministered to her regarding where she was professionally and the impact that the music she was writing and producing had on His people. It was at this time she learned about the power of music and its positive or negative effects. As a result Tia decided to leave the secular world and commit herself to uplifting the name of Jesus Christ and being that positive empowering voice. God favored her to get out of her contract with Atlantic Records and gave her the strength to reject offers from other well known record labels such as Roc-a-Fella Records and Warner Brothers. 　

Once Tia decided to use her gift to glorify God, she has had the pleasure of working with Da’ Truth (Open Book and Live DVD) as well as The Big Picture CD & LOST video, Tye Tribbett, Prayz 1, Twyse, Michelle Bonilla, The Cross Movement, The Bishops Choir, Freddy Washington Jr., Wilmington Chester Mass Chior, Chico Robinson & Gods Chosen, Everyday Process, BLuv, Larry Colbert & LAEL, the phenomenal Alice Martin and last but certainly not least, the anointed brother and cousin Chris Graham to name a few.

A wise man once said, "A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses."

Please take a moment to click the link below and vote for The MOST POWERFUL VOICE IN GOSPEL, & my great friend. MS.TIA PITTMAN!!

TiaPittman | Most Powerful Voice gospel music contest

BREAKING NEWS: WAR ON POOR!

2012-01-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

January 12, 2012 in the NEWS!!!!!

The Republican candidates were making appearances all over South Carolina as the world shifted it's attention to the Palmetto State who will hold primary elections on January 21st 2012. The New York Times reported on the covert war being waged against Iran. Bombings, assassinations, cyberattacks and defections all being used against Iran already. The U.S strongly denied any involvement in the killing of a nuke scientist. Syria getting closer to a civil war. Bashir Assad seemed increasingly desperate. A French journalist has been killed and the world is demanding answers.

There were a couple of important economic numbers released on January 12, 2012. RealtyTrac reported the number of foreclosures were down 34%in 2011, the firm also predicted foreclosure rates will increase again this year. We received the watered down version of the unemployment numbers the morning of January 12, 2012. While the above mentioned news topics are important, they appear to over shadow the most pressing issues that face America as a whole.

In WASHINGTON DC at George Washington University a panel of 8 distinguished thought provoking American leaders convened on one of the most pressing issues known to the American people today. The issue of poverty!

REMAKING AMERICA was a symposium that not only discussed issues of poverty, but posed possible solutions to eradicate POVERTY in whole. Moderated by broadcaster Tavis Smiley, panelist included Suze Orman, America’s leading authority on personal finance; Michael Moore, Academy Award®-winning filmmaker; Barbara Ehrenriech, prolific author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America; Majora Carter, Urban Revitalization Strategist; and Vicki B. Escarra, President & CEO of Feeding America, and Roger A. Clay, Jr., President insight Center for Community Economic Development.

Native of Chicago and personal finance guru Suze Orman spoke on the panel with such conviction and ease. Orman, who is no stranger to the less fortunate, grew up surrounded by poverty in the South Side of Chicago. Orman delivered an unique perspective on how American's can begin to deliver themselves from the pits of poverty. She reminded the American people to not rely on the American government to help them rid themselves of poverty. She encourages everyone to become educated and focus on their own financial decisions.

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Michael Moore stole the crowd in the auditorium packed with over 1,500 attendees. Moore wanted to let it be known that "America would not have the wealth that it has today without slavery." He drove home the point that in an effort to draw attention to the financial corruption that occurs in Washington DC the Occupy Wall-Street Movement targeted Wall-Street. Michael Moore urged for our current presidential administration to remove money from politics.

Cornel West a prominent and provocative democratic intellect stated "Poor people are priceless and precious." West also conveyed the message that although Jesus said that there will always be poor among us, they do not have to remain that way!

Over 1/2 of the American people are now living in poverty. Moderator Tavis Smiley noted, “ In 3 presidential debates, not once has the topic of poverty in America been brought up.

The purpose of this 3 hour symposium was not to just discuss solutions on how to eradicate poverty, it was a call to action! It was a call to you, (yes you reading this) a call to me, a call to every American person to speak up, address an evil that is eroding our society. POVERTY!

In the words of the good brother Cornel West, "There is a war on the poor!" Are you willing to join in to help fight back?

Catch the rebroadcast of the discussion on PBS Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (January 16th -18th).

Time to REMAKE AMERICA

2012-01-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

I just received a telephone call from a friend. She called me because she was feeling very frustrated. Frustrated because she works a full time job, she is a single woman with two children and she is struggling to survive. On average, this mother works between 80-90 hours Bi Weekly. After she is raped by the American government in taxes she barely makes enough to pay her rent, electric and water bill.

She told me that she went to the public assistance office this week to apply for assistance with food and medical expenses. After she filled out the application she waited for her interview. While in her interview, the caseworker began to shake her head. The caseworker told my friend that if she wanted to receive any type
of public assistance, it would be in her best interest to go and have another child.

SHE WAS MORTIFIED BY THE RESPONSE! She was a tax paying citizen. She paid into this system for over 16 years. She could not understand why she was unable to get assistance. Not knowing what she was going to feed her 2 small children that evening, she became angry as she pulled herself together and left the public assistance office.

What type of government allows it's citizens to work their entire lives to pay into a system that is incapable to assist them when they need it most?

How can we as a nation afford to fund trillion dollar wars, allot billions to irresponsible CEO's and banks for bailouts when you have working tax paying families RIGHT HERE ON AMERICAN SOIL unsure of when they will be able to supply their children with their next meal?????

These middle class families are the people who are working their fingers to the bone in order to pay taxes to a greedy inhumane government who will frivolously divvy hard earned tax dollars to support bailouts and wars. There is something terribly wrong with this picture.

JOIN IN ON THE DISCUSSION ON HOW WE CAN BEGIN TO ATTACK THE GREATEST WAR KNOWN TO OUR GENERATION!

THE WAR ON POVERTY!!!

LIVE on CSPAN Thursday January 12, 2012

6:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. ET

The conversation will be moderated by Tavis Smiley and the panelists include: Cornel West, Princeton University professor and author; Suze Orman, America’s leading authority on personal finance; Michael Moore, Academy Award®-winning filmmaker; Barbara Ehrenriech, prolific author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America; Majora Carter, Urban Revitalization Strategist; and Vicki B. Escarra, President and CEO of Feeding America.

Far Away!!!!! (Mentally)

2011-12-19T02:22:00.000-08:00

According to The National Institute for Mental Health, about 1 out of 4 people living in the United States of America suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. When we hear the term "mental disorder" we automatically think of the individuals that are severely mentally and physically challenged. We think of those individuals that are unable to assist themselves in terms of caring for their everyday needs and wants. Those individuals are more harmless to our society than we think. The population of individuals with severe mental illnesses are being properly treated for their diagnosis.

The individuals that are harmful to our society are the individuals who suffer from mental illnesses and are not diagnosed and being treated for their disorder. These people can be the people that you work with, the people that you work for, or the people that may have you as a passenger in their car. Mental illnesses do not have a face, or a preferred look, they can be anywhere! A person with a mental illness could be the man/woman that you are currently pursuing a relationship with.

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge a serious mental illness that people sometimes ignore while in a relationship with someone. Depression!!!!!!!!

Everyone goes through depression at one time or another, but most people come out of it. If you are in a relationship with a person who exhibits signs or symptoms of depression for weeks or months, you may want to encourage them to seek professional help.

A few signs and symptoms are:

(PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION IF A PERSON DISPLAYS MORE THAN 3)

1. Loss of weight without a diet or exercise plan.

2. Constant irritation or anger. (Someone needing anger management)

3. Loss of interest of activities or hobbies once pleasurable.... (Yes, that includes SEX)

3. Inability to sleep. (Late Nights and Early Mornings)

4. Compulsive need to shop or to have things to fill a void (clothing, shoes, pocketbooks, cars, etc)

5. Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism. (Negative people... we call them "haters")

6. Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive concerns that do not cease with treatment.

7. Thoughts of suicide or suicidal attempts.

If you or someone that you have began a relationship with exhibit these symptoms, please take the necessary steps to assist yourself or that person with obtaining the mental stability they require in order to increase their quality of life.

Depression is a mental illness and it requires treatment just as any other illness. If you are in a relationship with a depressed person, they will constantly rely on you to bring happiness and external fulfillment to their life. You will fail at this no matter how hard you may try.

When you enter into a relationship, you should be "happy" with yourself already, and when you engage in a loving relationship, the other person is there to enhance your contentment.

FIND RESOURCES NOW FOR YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW SUFFERING WITH THESE SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS.......(CLICK ON THE LINK)

Trust me!

2011-12-08T08:12:00.001-08:00

What would happen if one day you woke up, got dressed... grabbed the keys to your car headed down the stairs to go to work and..... the stairs weren't there?

In day to day relationships we rely on people to be honest and trust worthy. We want people to tell us the truth, and provide us with the comfort of knowing that everything will turn out fine. We trust that when we go to work that our employer will pay us for the hours that we worked. We trust that the money that we deposit into the bank will be there when we want to withdraw it for a specific need. We trust the pilot of an air plane when we fly from state to state or country to country to get us to our destination alive. We trust that the stairs will actually be there when we are headed out of our homes to begin our work day.

We trust that our families will act in the manner that we feel that family should act, we trust that our friends will behave like our version of how friends should behave. We as humans in each of our daily routines, trust that people will not let us down. We trust that people will conform to our standards and behave in the manner that we feel that they should behave.

Are we wrong for actually believing in the trust system? Are we wrong to believe that people should act and react to certain situations in the way that we would act or react? I have received several emails asking me to blog about trust. Unsure as to where I actually stand on the position of trust, I err on the side of caution. I trust no human.

To clarify my previous statement, I am a firm believer that all men are flawed. With saying that, I am aware that it is a strong possibility that people will not always act in the way that I believe they should act. When we place our trust in individuals, we are believing that they will do what we perceive to be the right thing in any situation. I believe that when you put your trust in a person, people will sometimes let you down. I have learned that if you place your trust in people, you are merely setting yourself up for a dangerous injury.

Because I am flawed, and you are flawed, I don't trust you. I don't live my life a life full of suspicion and doubt either. I have learned through experiences that no one is perfect. In my short 30 years on this earth, my trust has been betrayed severely over this span of time. I had to learn that when we trust, we have to be able to know that this "person" may let you down. It's not that people are sitting in a dark corner plotting your demise. (Sometimes they are) But for the most part, because people are flawed their perception of right or wrong is different from your reality and mines. How we believe they should act is not always the way that they do. When they do not act in the way that we think is "normal" or "right" we figuratively speaking "stop trusting" them. We should never have placed the amount of trust in them in the first place.

If we believe that God allows things to happen for reason, then we should only trust God. We should only trust our Creator because He will not allow things to happen unless they are in His plans for us. So my opinion about trust, many may call bleak, but the bottom line is.... I trust NO man! ( LOL or WOMAN) I place all my trust in God, and I understand that men are flawed. They are harmful creatures to their own well being, why would I trust them with mine? I don't depend on no one because even your shadow leaves you in the darkness. God will never leave you nor forsake you and he will always be there. He will not always act in the way that we believe is right, but His way is always the right way.

If you live in a glass house, you better like washing windows!!!!

2011-11-20T16:16:00.001-08:00

"I don't drink."

"I don't smoke."

"I've never tried any drugs."

"I have never put a cigarette to my mouth."

I have never heard any individual proclaim such innocence until recently. I sat in a training facility and heard a grown woman telling everyone in this class how "perfect" she was. She, a nice looking woman for her age range, thought that in order for her to appear relevant, she needed to proclaim that she was unlike the others seated in the room with her. She had to distinguish herself above everyone else. As I sat listening to her ramble on about all of the things that she did or lack there of, I heard her begin to discredit the other individuals also sitting around the room.

There was a young pregnant woman sharing her interesting story of knowing someone in her family that was addicted to crack cocaine, the middle aged African American woman frowned upon the woman telling her story. She sharply implied that the pregnant woman herself must have been addicted to the drug as well.

I was overly concerned as to why she had to discredit everything that all of the other people in the room was saying. Was she indeed unhappy with herself? I began to ponder and I could not wrap my mind around it.

There were roughly 10 other people in the room. The training lasted for approximately two weeks. For almost two weeks I pondered. When this one individual began to speak, all of the others that were sitting in the class shared the same face. Our facial expressions were filled with disgust and anguish. When she began to speak, even if she was not speaking of you in particular, we all became the person that she was judging. I cared less about her judging me, I cared more about the why factor. I cared to know why she felt the need to say some of the things that were coming from her lips.

At one point another member of the class asked her quite frankly...." We all know what you don't do, now tell us what it is that you DO do!"

The woman replied saying, "I do church."

I understand that as Christians we are suppose to let others know the error of their ways but I have never in my life seen such a thing.

Just because I don't use crack, is it appropriate for me to run to people addicted to crack and tell them "I don't do crack, and you shouldn't either?" NO!!!! That is wrong!

This woman was seriously lacking something in herself that she felt the need to first distinguish herself as perfect and then began to look her nose down on the others. Why did I care? It began to bother me as to why I cared that she was so judgmental on others. Then it hit me as to why I was so concerned. I felt that she was giving Christians a bad rap.

She was breaking all types of Christian rules in the name of Christianity. She was putting herself up on a pedestal to make them feel that she was better than them. I found myself beginning to speak up for people in the class. These people were strangers to me realistically, two weeks prior, I had not known any of them. I was trying to take up for those people because I did not want them to believe that this is the way that all Christians believed. I wanted them to know that just because they did drink or smoke or practice sex before marriage, that there was still hope for them. God loves the sinner, he just hates the sin! I found myself wanting to tell the woman to shut up! I felt that I had to defend the honor of Christians everywhere.

Matthew 6:1 says: " Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Also, Matthew 6:5 says: And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Truthfully, as Christians we need to know that there is a fine line between letting one know the errors of their ways and being judgmental. When we are showing someone their errors, it should always be done in love.

I know that I was suppose to encounter this woman in order for me to find out how thin that line can actually be. It is very easy to judge others by our standards of what we feel is right or wrong but the truth of the matter is you and I don't have a heaven to give anyone or a hell to keep them out of!

Judge not.... least ye be judged!

Operation MONKEY BUSINESS!

2011-10-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

Love is truly an universal language that everyone understands. So I am sure that everyone understands that once you end a relationship there is a process that one must go through to reset their love button.

(I know that we all wish there was an easy button for reseting our heart once a love is lost)

I am not sure about you, but I had to dumb down all of the long exaggerated words, sad love songs, and focus on what the meat of the process actually entailed. I have compiled my 3 step approach together and decided to share with you how to begin the process.

Everything I have learned of the healing process comes from a covert secret mission that I named OPERATION MONKEY BUSINESS

The first step in my healing process is:

1. Operation..... HEAR NO EVIL!

Be very selective to whom you receive advice from. Although everyone appears to have your best interest in mind, I have found out (the hard way) this is not always true. The only true person that will have your best interest in mind can not be tweeted, emailed or texted. You definitely would need to drop to your knees and talk to your Creator. Ask God to sustain you and increase your strength in your time of need. (You may want to ask God to help you learn what you need to learn from the situation you are going through) If you do that sooner than later, you may expedite your healing process. Sometimes God allows things to occur to get our attention. Stop, listen and learn!

The number one lie that people want you to believe is....... Time heals all wounds!!! (In my Bill Cosby voice) THAT IS THE DUMBEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!!! Time alone does not heal ALL WOUNDS! If you have a broken arm, you just don't let it heal on it's own.... you visit a doctor, get a cast or do whatever is needed to make sure it heals properly. If you were to leave it and let it heal on it's own....I'm sure it would heal, but would it heal properly? On top of it never healing properly.... it may never work the same! The same thing applies to your heart. Each person is different so the method you may need to began your healing process may differ, but what ever you need.... please just don't ignore the fact that you are suffering from a broken heart, get the help you may need to properly heal that wound. Or it may never work the same again!!!!!!! A few examples of how to properly heal your broken heart may include talking to a professional counselor, prayer, medatation, finding yourself, and

re-familiarizing yourself with guess who? YOURSELF!

2. Operation.....SEE NO EVIL!

Sever all ties. Delete text messages, emails, Face book, pictures, tweets....All of the above. I like to call this part of the process The Out of Sight, Out of Mind Mission. If you continue to have small reminders of that person everywhere, it will be extremely hard for you to forget all about them. Absence does not always make the heart grow fonder. Even if you think that they are thinking of you.... they are probably not. Therefore push them the farthest way out of your mind.... OUT THE BACK DOOR!!! BYE

3. Operation.....SPEAK NO EVIL!

Do not bad mouth that person. That only makes you look weak and insecure. The details of your relationship should not travel to all of your close associates and friends. Move on and wish that person well. Pray for their healing and well being. In doing so, you will be more likely to move past that part of your life sooner. Defaming a person's character makes you harbor bad feelings for that person. This only intensifies your break up process and hurts you more than it hurts them. They are definitely not losing sleep because you are holding a grudge against them. It hurts you more. Also when we forgive a person, we should forget about the instances in which they wronged us. The shoe could quite possibly be on the other foot. You could have wronged the other person. (Doesn't really matter) It is water under the bridge now. Apologize, forgive yourself and forget about it. Move on and began to build what matters most.... You, and your relationship with your Creator! Whether they accept your apology or not has nothing to do with you. That is between that person and their God!

Anyone who has loved and lost has experienced going through the healing process. The healing process is a process that I personally believe is harder than the break up itself. I am no guru on love nor am I clinically certified to prescribe advice on the subject matter. What I do have is learned life experiences of going through the healing process. Hopefully my experiences will be useful to someone else that may need assistance coping with the healing process.

HEAR NO EVIL, SEE NO EVIL, SPEAK NO EVIL.... Operation Monkey Business!!!!!!!

Be Blessed!

Another One Bites the Dust!

2011-10-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

Love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud... I am sure that many of us can recite verbatim many of the positive effects that love has left on our hearts... and more times than none those are the feeling that people wish to hear about. I would like to take a moment to discuss the opposite.

Typically I try to view all of life's experiences in a positive light. I would be a bold faced liar if I sat here at my computer and typed that I haven't felt the hurt that the heart feels when it is wounded. It would be naive of me to think that such a thing as heart break does not exist.

Thinking of the words to type that could possibly sum up my thoughts and feelings about this aspect of love made me remember a song that I heard years ago. Musiq Soulchild gracefully sings about this aspect of love in his song titled Love. It's challenging to categorize matters of the heart....heart break included. Musiq Soulchild does a wonderful job echoing in this song the sentiments I feel when I think of heart break.

Lyrically the song writes as though it could be a true love letter, I really paid close attention to the lyrics in the hook of the song that stated THROUGH ALL OF THE UPS AND DOWNS, JOYS AND HURTS, FOR BETTER OR WORSE I STILL WILL CHOOSE YOU FIRST.

We were created and given the gift of love. It's in our human nature to long for the emotions that are felt when we partake in loving and being loved. It's an addiction. So regardless of how many times we are hurt from love, after the healing process is over, we again began our quest to find love. Luckily enough, we are privileged to be able to capture those feelings over and over again.

Love IS a drug..... It may sound cliche initially, but it's been reported that the same chemical process that takes place with addiction takes place when we fall in love. We as humans are constantly looking for that next fix. Knowing that love won't always fit into our "box" and work the way that we sometimes think that it should, we should always remain grateful that we are able to love at all. There will be ups and downs...... but we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.

Below I have added his lyrics. I am sure that we have all heard the song before. Read the words and reflect......Be blessed!

Love....

So many things I've got to tell you

But I am afraid I don't know how

Because there's a possibility that you'll look at me differently

Love...

Ever since the first moment I spoke your name from then on I knew that by you being in my life

Things were destined to change

Love...

So many people use your name in vain

Love

Those who have faith in you sometimes go astray

Love

Through all the ups and downs and joys and hurt

Love

For better or worse I still will choose you first

Many days I've longed for you

Wanting you

Hoping for the chance to get to know you

Longing for your kiss

For your touch, for your feel, your essence

Many nights I've cried from the things you do

Felt like I could die from the thought of losing you

I know that your real

With no doubts and no fears

And no questions

Love.....

So many people use your name in vain

Love.....

Those who have faith in you sometimes go astray

Love....

Through all the ups and downs and joys and hurt

Love.....

For better or worse I still will choose you first

At first you didn't mean that much to me

Now I know your all I need

The world looks so brand new to me

Now that I found love

Every day I live for you

and everything that I do, I do for you

What I say is how I feel so believe it's true

You got to know I'm true

Love....

So many people use your name in vain

Love.....

Those who have faith in you sometimes go astray

Love......

Through all the ups and downs and joys and hurt

Love......

For better or worse I still will chose you first

Flavors of Love

2011-10-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Today I felt an overwhelming urge to blog about love. Love has sooo many different faces that narrowing down a subject line to blog about on love is like finding a needle lost in a haystack. Soooo here I go, thinking "How can I put a cap on love? How can I express an universal emotion such as love with out blogging for an eternity?" You can't! Simply put... but for the next week or so, I will indulge my blog spot in love.....

When I speak about love, the love that I am speaking about is not the type of love that you read in US Magazine or that you hear reported on TMZ. Even though there are many different tastes, styles and flavors of love....the love that I am speaking of could not even be captured by Flavor Flav himself on Flavor of Love!

The love that I'm speaking of is sometimes confused with lust. Truthfully, I personally can see how these two vaguely distinct emotions could sometimes be intertwined! The feelings the two words produce sometimes appear to be the same when felt, but in no way, should we confuse the two.....and further more I wish to deal with love over lust.

Love is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.
Lust is defined in the same dictionary as obsolete: a pleasure, delight. Personal inclination or wish, or an intense longing or craving.

Love can not be found in that one night stand that you had with the bar tender last night. It can not even be created with girl who danced hard with you at the club on Friday. True unconditional love is not mistaken at all and it definitely shouldn't be confused with merely lust.

When you have found the one person in life that you feel.... Scratch that... THAT YOU KNOW you are unable to live without; When your heart aches everyday when you are not with that person; When you dream about someone and try earnestly to fall back asleep just to be with that person in your dreams; When you are bothered by the thought of them not being well; When you would give any and everything to be with that one person. (Anything meaning just that...even if that means you will lose everything) Then you know that you have experienced TRUE UNDYING LOVE.

Note to readers..... and self.... I too have misconstrued love for lust in my lifetime. I can also say that I am guilty of lusting after God. I had to learn what love actually was before I understood how God wanted me to actually express it towards Him. God loved us so much that he gave and is willing to give his all for us, just so that we in turn will love him back.

Because He is the author of love, He gives it away free of charge. Which explains how you are able to love someone with all of your heart and still not believe there is a God.......

But to those of us who accept his gift of love freely and choose to reciprocate it to Him as He commands, we are obligated to love God first before all else. Knowing this, we should love and not just lust after our Creator. We should unselfishly give our loyalty and admiration to Him just as we would in pursuing a love interest. God is love and we love only because He loved us first!

Be Blessed & Love........

Grand Opening, Grand Closing!

2010-11-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was without form and void....
Just as it appears my life was. I guess there has to be a grand opening somewhere if you want to begin to live a purpose filled life. So here it goes....

Today I woke up to a new me. Although I have looked at this version of me for close to 3 decades, I appeared this morning unrecognizable to myself. Unrecognizable to goals dreams and aspirations that I wanted to achieve. Unrecognizable to the person that God wants me to be. Not saying that God doesn't recognize me. (He knows about all of the nappy little hairs that I have on my head)

I defined the word unrecognizable to assure that it was a real word, because I tend to make some up, but when I ran across the definition on www.thefreedictionary.com I actually found out that unrecognizable was the one word that I NEEDED to use to define the person that was staring me back in the face.

Defying recognition due to damage or altercation is what the definition read, however I said to myself, "Self" "You have never been involved in any accidents that disfigured or altered your appearance." At that moment.... I realized that every encounter, every situation, every road that I traveled along in my life, had in one way or another damaged or altered the person in which God wanted me to be.....

Hopefully by reading The Life and Times of Ms. Ellis you will take something other than an amusing story from the typed words that are presented before you. Know that the person that has pressed the keys for the stories that you will find on this blog has and will recounter many stories, times, and memories that have left many lasting impressions (some good and some not so good) on my life and the lives of others around me.

Grand Opening.........................