How Mama Got Her Groove Back..Kinda

For the first time since Blu's birth, I had my first real big people's outing. As we were getting ready, I pointed out to DH that this was my first real big people's outing and he found that hard to believe. What about this person's event, he said, I was like that was a BABY shower! What about that person's thing, he said, and I replied: "YOU went and said you were representing us, remember?" Mae's 30th was my first real people's outing in a long time without a belly - yes o, my country self went to a few big people's events when I was expecting Blu. Anyway, there was no way I was going to miss out on this here gig. My friend Dolly had been hyping it forever saying there was going to be a soul singer, it was going to be in this new lounge, bla, bla, bla.

Thank God for sisters who agree to babysit, we had a reliable babysitter for Blu and we were all set to go. Not before he displayed for us well well. My boy did all sortsa things that prevented us from leaving the house on time. We finally got there and it felt so good to be out with my crowd. In no time, I had a resfreshing beverage in my hands and was enjoying the ambiance. Dolly and co really put their foot in it - they transformed the lounge big time with Mae's theme. I know who to call for my next gig.

The music was good, the soul singer was excellent, the beverages were a welcome change from what I've been used to, but two hours later, I started missing my Blu and mama had to go be with her baby. I heard the party was on until 3 in the morning and I missed out on a lot of major moments. All the same, I enjoyed the little time I spent at the party. Note to self: I's a mama now and I can't hang like I used to. At least not right now.

Having a Blast!

So, I'm in the DC area for the next couple of days. Came here for work first, play second. Yeah, right. Anyway, now that work is over and done with, I can settle in and have a fun couple of days. Yesterday, after a round of meetings and display of good employee behavior (responding to emails as soon as they appeared in my inbox and checking in on things back at the office), I decided to hit up Adams Morgan. Whaaaaaaaaat! That place is the bomb. My only regret was that I was solo the whole time. While I enjoy hanging out by myself, I always wish that DH is with me to share these experiences.

Nevertheless, I had heard about this African restaurant that I MUST try when I'm in DC so I went. Since it was African and I wasn't sure who I could run into, I made an attempt to look semi-decent. Wore my new jeans, a blousy-looking tee (gotta love those - only 10 bucks), accessories, and heels. Anyways I took off in search of this African restaurant. I must have come on a bad day because I totally couldn't eat the rice. It was all good though because I enjoyed the atmosphere. As I walked in, people were kinda looking a little curiously cause I was sans any company. The waiter was like, "Two?" and I said, "No, one, thanks." Anyway, after the initial whatever whatever, I took a seat in the back, ate all the chicken and watched people having a blast. There was this one woman that got so drunk her friend had to take her to the bathroom. It was funny how ticked off her friend was because she had been having a great time now comes 'Chontae/Risi/Chika' messing up the move. All the same she was nice to her friend – taking care of her and gushing after her to make sure she was okay.

There was also this one Zidane-y looking German guy seated next to me. I guess he saw me staring at his wings and offered me some. Nah, don't eat wings from strangers. I didn't say that though. Anyway, the guy was pretty interesting. I asked him if he came there often cause he was obviously enjoying himself. I didn't really hear his response but I gathered so because he said to try the fish next time I come and started talking about the live band. Oh really? Live band? I should have had a nap before going because I would really have enjoyed that. Anyway, the guy's background seemed pretty interesting – works for the World Bank, lives in Africa, was raised in Africa, etc. I hung around see if I could catch some FREE live music but it was getting late (around tenish) and I had started yawning already. These days, I need to catch a few zzzzzzzzzs if I want to do any late night moves. I people watched for a few more minutes.

Not too far from me was this couple that walked right in from the street. They looked pretty interesting and I was curious to see what they would order. They had wings for appetizers. Those wings must have been good. They went through the whole thing so fast. For their entree, the woman/wife ordered rice, vegetables and shrimp and the guy had fufu, vegetables and the same chicken I had. I told my next door table mate it was nice talking to him and bounced. It must have been abrupt because he seemed a little surprised. I guess it's good to have company when you're eating alone but oga, I don marry o. I would definitely go back there, I probably caught the rice on a bad day but the atmosphere was cool. I enjoy people watching.

The fun part of the evening came much later. Since I had eaten so little, I decided to spoil myself with a little scoop of ice cream. I got the espresso one because I needed to wake up a little. As I walked towards the ice cream place, I heard what sounded like karaoke on the other side of the street. The dude’s voice was totally whack but he kept singing. I couldn’t help myself, I jaywalked to the other side of the street to watch this live music. It so cracked me up! People were standing around watching him and laughing. A couple of guys were booing but others were mostly cheering. I laughed my head off. At one point, I went to help the guy out – we sang Enrique Iglesias’ Hero. Now, my voice was even whacker than the dude so it was ridiculous! I don’t know why I joined him. Singing in the streets is typically not my idea of having a good time. I don't ever karaoke. The whole thing was so funny, I was laughing as I sang along because my voice is terrible. Before I knew it, people started taking pictures. Abeg o, please do not use my picture for Girls Gone Wild. I asked one girl that had been taking pictures to take some pictures with my camera of me and karaoke guy so I have a couple to look back on. Woulda posted them today but my cable thingy is at home. That was fun!

Almost Monday

This was such a good weekend. Seriously. Hung out with friends on Friday until two in the morning. It is always such a blast to hang out with like-minded people. We started out at the movies, then grabbed a bite to eat. The gist was so solid that we shut the place down and had to look for another spot to continue the evening. Finally, we went to this coffeehouse and hung out there until way past two in the morning.

Saturday was equally great. It was 'love me' day - pretty much all about me. Except that being the mother of a thirty-plus year old who was sick, I had to take care of business and then head out on my own business. I really just wanted to hang out by myself so I hit the mall to look for the perfect skirt to go with the bustier that I'll be wearing to a wedding next week. There were sales everywhere. I strayed from the original plan and flirted with the idea of wearing this hot red number from Bebe but as much as I loved it, I couldn't get it because I noticed a questionable stain on it. I hit up Karen Millen next and there were tons of gorgeous dresses but they all get as they be with my current frame. I hate that place. All the girls there are skinny hot and I'm not. Oh well, I got a really nice silk top that would be nice for date night and then I moved on to BCBG. More sales there. I found a skirt that might work and squeezed my way into a size four. It made my butt look somehow so I had to let it go despite the respectable price tag. Bloomies was next and I found this lovely black dress. The sales woman whispered to me that it is going on sale on Tuesday so I tried on a couple of potential candidates and held off on buying the dress until Tuesday of course. Thank you for hooking a sister up.

Don't know how I got off on that tangent. I have been getting some shopaholic tendencies lately. Hopefully, it will pass soon enough. On my way out of the mall, I impulsively grabbed 3 different tops in the junior section without trying them on or looking at the sizes. Thank God they all fit when I got home. Great sales, great buys. Great 'love me' day. Feeling less selfish, I went to visit a friend of a friend who just had a baby and hung out with the friend and her friend and all their kids. After two hours, I got bored of watching them feed their babies and took my leave. Seriously, watching the force-feeding game was putting me to sleep fast and I had to go because I was literally falling asleep right there. On my way out the door, DH called to say we were invited to dinner. Great!

That was my Saturday. By Sunday, there was a standoff in the house of peace so we both went to our different places of worship. I got back home earlier, changed into my normally-worn-at-home-short-short skirt, a light top, and my sister's flats and packed a bag for the park. I intended to finish a book that I've been reading for the past month or so and took my laptop to work on a spreadsheet for work just in case I finished the book earlier. Who do I see as I head out? My wonderful DH getting out of his car but talking on the phone. I waved and walked in the direction of my car. He quickly ends his conversation and asks where I'm going. He is surprised I'm going to the park alone so I ask if he wants to come. He's game so we both go back in so he can get changed. We find a shady spot by a lake and I bring out my book and we just sit quietly and enjoy the afternoon. Actually, there was some interruption in our quiet time when this guy came by with his two adorable daughters. Ooh, they were so cute! It was fun watching him play with his girls. DH thought they were cute too. After the park, we went to get our Dyson, hung out with my sisters for a minute and went to a Thai place for dinner. The end of another weekend. I hope Friday comes quickly enough.