Thanks for the repost. I love afros. My latest favorite---Beautiful Esperanza Spalding!!!! https://www.google.com/search?q=afros&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=UUsQT9LWDcOdiAKI3_2RDg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CCMQ_AUoAQ&biw=1258&bih=539#hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=esperanza+spalding&pbx=1&oq=esperanz&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=16214l22173l0l24992l8l8l0l0l0l0l350l2105l2-5.3l8l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&fp=8c9da18748296521&biw=1258&bih=539

I am a beauty blogger, not the cookie cutter beauty blogger, but the one I chose to be -- speaking my mind. I appreciate this post. When I worked in corporate at the largest beauty retailer on the planet I received so much swag is was ridiculous, yet I didn't have to disclose that infomation... Love your blog BTW Tracey

i can't believe you read erma bombeck! i loved her growing up. her and art buchwald. i was such a weird kid. hmmm, you may be competiton for with common... where you been? got me fiendin' for a word but no swagga have i heard been two weeks or more. tis how you roll? get me hooked, then let hang? can hear you now-- ain't nothing but a thang. i need to read it get it, have it. get my urban manchild taste. don't do that no mo. cuz i'm gonna have to come look for you. hahahah. okay clearly i'm no freestyler. no,no. cuz i'm gonna stalk you. get my swagga face t0 face. YAY! she did it. disclaimer here. I have't taken my ritalin in 3 days....

Thank you so much for mentioning me. I'm really blown away. I can't wait until your terrific two's! You have made me a better blogger.

Oh, I have so much to say on this subject. I have had to be strong, yet my daughters now 12,18 and 22 have seen my vulnerability, frustration and anger. And I'm glad they have. I have let them know my "issues" with their father, as they witnessed most of his ill behavior. It has been painful for all of us, but with open dialogue, my daughters have learned that as women they cannot accept any behavior. When I told their dad that he had to go, he became violent and started stalking me at work and other locales. He broke into my offices (owned my LVMH) and tried to access my computer. I saved his sorry a** by begging them not to lock him up. Instead they filed a restraining order against him and it ultimately cost me my six figure job. Was I sad to see him go? That would be a resounding NO! However, I am sad that I broke my silent promise to my children that I would raise them with a mother and a father, as I was raised. The unfortunate part of the this whole scenario, is that woman who are single parents are forced to adopt masculine traits which can be perceived as agressive and unattractive by men. There is a delicate balance that must be struck so that we (all the single mamas -- hmmm, a spin off bey video just came to mind)can maintain our feminity and yet be that strong black woman. It's been 7 years for my daughters, and two have graduated high school during that time -- one as class valedictorian with a full ride to Cal Berkeley, and the other just began college in Oakland and the 2nd highest ranked women's college in the US, with a focus in the sciences no less. The last one, we will see... So we made it against the odds. I am proud of myself and my daughters who have seen me crack at times. They have seen my cry and they have seen me turn my life around. From that moment when their father locked us out of the house and moved us into a rat infested apartment in a neighborhood that I never knew, back to our own peaceful home. Where has he been since then? Ummm, locked up for white collar crime. Homeless. Never thought he was like that. He is a loser and an idiot to his daughters and they have no respect for them. He calls bringing over a chicken for me to cook child support. Ok. I went off on a tangent. Thanks Ron for the forum to rant. I love your blog.