A Mile a Minute: The World of Mrs. Saditty

Natural Hair Update

I recently dawned on me that I had not discussed my hair on my blog! Well, it's been a little over three months since my big chop. This is my second go-round as a natural and this time, it's for keeps! Sure, I miss mine (and other people's) long, luxurious locks flowing from my head but this? It just feels...well natural?

Before chopping off the relaxed portion of my hair, I was under the impression that I had alopecia because my temple areas were literally BALD under my weaves, etc. and would not grow. Well, a few weeks ago, I noticed some fuzziness on the bald portions and now----there is hair! It's growing! As a matter of fact, the whole head has become really thick and is growing like a bush.

Now, I was a PJ (product junkie) and have a bathroom full of expensive crap that might've made my hair look good but they definitely didn't feel good nor do anything to promote growth. Thanks to fellow bloggers Adrienne (I am loving the coconut oil!) and Val (keep sending all the links to the natural hair sites!) and a ton of people on Youtube, I have learned that cheaper is sometimes better. Instead of shampooing, I co-wash with V05 Conditioner ($1.19 per bottle) mixed with Baking Soda ($.49 per box). Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and Pure Shea butter from the African store have become my go-to conditioning and styling products. All in all, they have my hair growing like wildfire!!I am moving past TWA (teeny-weeny afro) stage and now have enough for an afro-puff....check me out....

Believe it or not, I am happy to be nappy! I do envy many of my permed sisters but I guess it just wasn't for me! I'll keep you guys updated on my hair's progress. See ya'll!

Overjoyed!

What is this, you ask? Why it is the President's Award for Educational Excellence and it was presented to Biggest Saditty at his schools awards program on Friday night.  Now, those of you who know me know that bragging is not in my thing but this is an exception. Why? Remember, this is the same child that was incorrectly labled as "ADD/ADHD", "mildly autistic", "learning disabled", "slow" and a myriad of other crap . On top of this award being totally unexpected, I was also blown away by both his test scrores and his final grades for the year. It seems like this son of mine took the Iowa test and blew it completely out of the water. Speech and language therapy along with modifications, patience, and prayer have taken us to this point. I can kick myself for wanting to give up in the past! On top of his superb test scores, he finished the year with an overall 97 avereage. Yes, my baby. To ANYONE out there who is frustrated with your child and/or the school system, keep pushing on and praying--any situation can change. OK....on to more pictures...

Biggest getting his Presidential Award from the Principal.

The First Grade Teacher presenting my baby with awards for Math, Science, Social Studies, and Spelling. Gotta work on that reading....

In other school news, we also had the best kind of birthday party (the school party, with no mess at home, no passing out invitations and minimal cleanup)for Itty Bitty who turned 3.

I can't believe this girl refused to stand on the chair....making her poor, pregnant mama bend.....

The birthday girl and her brothers....wow! I finally got them to look all in the same direction at once!

Well, tommorow Middle Saditty (on the right) graduates from pre-K. He asked me if its okay for him to quit school after tommorow because he is tired...says he can just try to find a job....NO WORDS! LOL  Pray for me as these graduations are so wonderful and I am usually the parent that just sits and cries thru the whole thing!

As always, there is a message in me for someone out there...not sure who but its for someone. If you occassionally get down on yourself and think that you fail at being a parent--lighten up. Parenting (especially single parenting, remember I have been there) can be a struggle and sometimes, we cme close to throwing in the towel. We feel as though we have no help and that everything in the world is against us and although the struggle continues, joy always begins. When you look at the product of your hard work (yes, your beautiful children), you won't think about money problems, divorce, lonliness, or bad relationships, depression, or any of that stuff. You'll simply see them and how far you've come. If you've had some type of failure in the past or feel inadequate in any way, looking at your kids will make you see that you actually are a winner. Love ya'll! Mrs. S

On top of the world!

Don't adjust your computer's settings because you are seeing correctly! And I am sitting on top of the world. Sure, its time to look for a bigger house, a bigger Mommie Mobile, buy baby things all over again but those things are simply taking a back seat to my bliss! My whole world is about to change again and although it is unexpected, I am ready for the challenge!!

Jamaica? No Problem!

Hey ya'll! It's been a few days but your girl has been distracted. I have the most WONDERFUL news in the world to share with ya'll but I'll wait another day or so.Needless to say, I am back in effect! I wanted to share a few pics of our trip with you guys...

A shot from the airport shuttle en route from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios.

 The view of Ocho Rios from our little porch.

 

 

  Jerk baby, jerk baby, jerk jerk jerk!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A picture of a natural waterfall at The Ruins. I kept hearing running water while in our room or on the porch and could not figure it out where it was coming from(it helped me to sleep like a BABY!). We became hungry and wandered off and discovered this right next door!

An alternate view of the Falls at the Ruins.

 

The famous and fabulous Dunn's River Falls. It took Mr. S and I nearly an hour to climb from beach level to the top of the falls. Not bad? Wrong! A group of eightysomething year old Austrian and German tourists beat us up there by about twenty minutes. I couldn't take my camera on the actual climb BUT I wish you guys could see them standing at the summit in their Speedos and micro-kinis...a-m-a-z-i-n-g!

 

Mr. S is going to HELL. Why, you ask? Well meet Carlton. Carlton works at Evitas, a restaurant in the Blue Mountains with an AMAZING view. It was booked solid every single night....until Mr. S got the bright idea ofcalling and saying that I was a food critic attempting to write a review. Instantly, we had a table on a balcony overlooking Jamaica. Carlton wasted no time telling us how he was an aspiring actor and planned to come to America and put Idris Elba out of work. He insisted on posing and slipped Mr. S a headshot, asking him to give it to his "producer friend"....WTF?????? The closest my husband has ever been to a producer was in a concession line at a Star Trek convention. Carlton honey, don't hold your breath. Since everyone thought I was a food critic, the service was OFF THE HOOK. The food? Imagine licking motor oil off your car's axle. Got it? Good. I guess that was our punishment!

 

A view of the Carribean from Reggae Beach.

Peep this cute little wagon. Vendors push them up and down the street, selling fresh steam roasted peanuts. Mr. S insisted on buying me a bag. I was hesitant but when I bit into the warm creamy goodness called a steam roasted peanut, I was in sheer heaven. Imagine how fast I came crashing down when I stood on the sidewalk chewing as the vendor fetched more water to make steam----OUT OF THE FRIGGING DITCH!!!!!

Mr. S and his 746,288th Rum Punch.

In all, we had a wonderful time with lots of laughs. and great memories were made. It was super affordable.  After talking to a few islanders, we learned how bad the recession/near Depression is hurting the tourism industry. As always, visits to the Carribean and other parts of the world are beautiful yet eye opening. In the United States, we are TRULY blessed. The people of Jamaica are becautiful, humble, and so happy. Makes you think....in the US, we have everything but are not happy with anything. The people of Jamaica and other nations have nothing but still manage to be happy. How can they be happy with nothing but we are miserable with everything? Counting blessings is definitely something that I need to work on!

Love ya'll! Mrs. S

If you're looking for me (revised)

No sooner than I could click SAVE and PUBLISH on the previous post, I received a text message that said, "call me." yes, I got chewed out. Some of you keep me in line. As promised, here is my revised post:

Hey guys. Mr. S and I are going to Jamaica in order to celebrate our upcoming anniversary. I have a ft job, do endless hours of labor relations, and am in school. I am raising five children. I am exhausted, running on empty, and must pause before I collapse. My kids are in great hands with my parents who successfully raised me. I will not worry, feel guilty, or sit here crying like a fool. I will not make anyone call me or text me to end my pity party. I will see y'all when we return. Love y'all!

Are you happy now?!?!?!

My Funny (and belated) Valentine

I know that I am nearly a week late but here we go! Valentines is my favorite holiday so of course me and the kiddies go all out. This year, Mr. S FINALLY decided to join in the fun...this is pic heavy and may take a bit to load but enjoy!

 They looooved the idea of ditching uniforms for the day. Because V-tines fell on a Saturday, the school celebrated on Friday.

 Middle Saditty's class did a presentation that was priceless! (PEEP that "come hug me" look in his eyes)

 Mr S brought home two new additions to the family. This is Itty Bitty's baby Saudia Saditty. Now keep in mind that is what we were going to name our next (and final) child so I guess this is his way of telling me that we are done????

 Okay. I am sooo addicted to watching A&E's "The First 48" that Mr. S named my baby bear Caroline Mason Saditty...lol

 This year, he remembered to peel off the Albertson's sticker! LOL

We ate here. If you have not been and have one within a seventy-five mile radius, make a bee-line! Here is a shot of us after a few pineapple mojitos.

   

Well I hope that your Valentines was as happy as ours. Much love! Mrs S

Happy Birthday Mr. S

35 years ago, God blessed the world with you. Husband, father, best friend... You are everything to us. Without a doubt, today will be one of the best days of your life...it's the least we can do. I love you!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Saditty!

35 years ago, you made your grand entrance into this world. you're a wonderful Dad, husband, and best friend. Today, without a doubt, will be one of the best days of your life! So sit back, relax, and enjoy what the kids and I have planned. We love you!

Home Improvement Phase I --Roof Complete!

The roof at 2146 is completed! Big ups to my girl TIH who encouraged me to seek the expertise of the brown brothers from South of the Border. I had doubts about them but choose to ignore the hems and haws of negativity and am I happy I did! they brought their own dumpster (meaning no disposal fee for old tiles and materials) and finished 3 days ahead of schedule and nearly a grand under their original estimate (yes, they were honest and charged me even less than originally agreed upon). My insurance inspector came by to view before releasing depreciated costs orignally held and was amazed at the quality job in such a short time. The brother who we originally wanted to use (we support Black business, or at least attempt to) called two days ago to ask if we still needed a new roof. WTF? Oh, did I mention that the brown brothers also hung two doors and gave me an awesome estimate for my new addition? Ole'! Icy cold Budweisers all around!

Life Lesson #1: Like vs. Respect

Would you rather be well liked or well respected? If I would've been asked this question a few years ago, I would've chosen (hands down) well liked. Today? Things are really, really different.

As most of you know, MrSaditty and I are both "union people", deeply involved in labor relations at our respective work sites. It is a high priority for both of us, right behind God, family, etc. We both work for huge entities that are unionized for a reason....large entities rarely play fair in the sand box. People do not go to jobs everyday because they are fun...people go to jobs to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. If a person's livelihood is threatened by management egos, unfair labor practices, and a million other rabbits that corporate America likes to pull out of hats, then I step in as a job steward.

Although swamped, I love my labor relations work and decided a few months ago that in addition to being a job steward, I wanted to hold office within my local union. Elections are in September and with 900+ members (700 of which are in my work site) in my local, I knew I needed to get on the ball with campaigning. My reason for wanting to hold office? I wanted to have more of a voice when executive decisions were made within the union (my voice being the voice of the people--my members).

Here is where the story begins to turn. I have a "friend" (use this word loosely, ya'll) that shares my passion for labor relations and is also a job steward. I made the mistake of telling her that I planned on seeking an executive position. A few days later, my friend told me how much she loved the union, politics, blah blah blah and it was "nothing personal" but she was going to run against me and any other candidates. Fine. She went on to say that going to the conventions and meeting politicians would really prepare her for the career of her dreams....ummmmm, okay.

Nominations went well. She invited a few friends who are paying members but never attend meetings to the nomination meeting. One nominated her, one gave her second, and the others cheered when she accepted the nomination. I nominated myself and received a second from an older Caucasian man that I see at meetings but really do not know. She and I were the only two nominees for that particular position. Next came nominations for other positions which went pretty smoothly.

Nominations led to three months of campaigning. Several people running for other positions dropped out of the race but she and I continued to vie for the same position. I have a million things to do and a million things racing thru my mind but it was business as usual. Defending the members and walking them thru the grievance process. No glossy elections posters (let's be real, I pay tuition for 5 kids), no Jason's Deli for 400+ people on the day shift (I want the position but my family has to eat). None of that. On the other hand, she did an excellent job of campaigning. One day, while I took a break and grabbed a wrap from one of the zillion trays she ordered from Jason's. As I gnawed on the wrap, she and I engaged in some polite conversation (our friendship had come to sort of a standstill) and caught each other up on recent happenings. The conversation soon turned and she asked me if I had plans to drop out of the race and allow her to win by acclamation. I thought this to be strange so I asked her why. She explained that I really didn't have a chance of winning but still had a chance to "retain dignity" by bowing out. Ummmmm, okay. She went on to point out that I was not really well liked by the general population in the workplace and was the subject of many unsavory conversations. Wow. I mean, don't get me wrong I know people had some pretty salty things to say about me and no, I was not well liked in the workplace but hearing it from my friend felt like a blow to the midsection. I swallowed this hard (along with a big piece of the wrap) and thought about it. She is beautiful, smart, and well liked. She had the funds to court, campaign, and woo members and I did not. Sure, I could max out one of my cards on one lunch for a few hundred people but that was really too big of a sacrifice for me to make. I excused myself from our conversation to go and sit a discipline meeting. As I trudged to the meeting, her words echoed in my head.

That night, I talked it over with MrSaditty. He listened to the whole story and was silent for several minutes. In fact, he was so silent that I thought he was ignoring me and giving his full attention to the stupid ping-pong game on his IPhone. After a few minutes, he put the phone down. "E, this isn't your first time hearing that people talk bad about you on a daily basis, right?" I answered, "No." He then asked me who sat more disciplines and won more grievances. Easy answer....me. He asked me how many people said a simple "thank you" to me for saving their jobs or getting them reinstated with pay after being terminated. I could count the number on one hand. He then went on to say that when I accepted the Union Steward job, I knew that labor relations was thankless work. He seriously asked me if my heart was still in "the cause"....yep, it sure is. Then, he gave me a great piece of advice...."Do what you love and everything else will happen the way its supposed to happen." He then picked up the damned phone and went right back to his game.

Well, as campaigning wound down, there was little question as to who the winner would be. The word around the work site was that "they" had no plans of voting for me because she had done an awesome job of being a people pleaser and I had put forth no effort. I continued to do my regular work as well as labor relations. I was still a steward and prepared myself to continue with business as usual.

Well, elections came. This chick bought lunch and beverages and offered to feed every paying member in exchange for their sealed ballot in it's  envelope. Folks came and went all day, picking pepperoni and dropping off their envelopes. Although my stomach growled, I had too much pride to take her food. At 6pm, someone from the elections committee came to take the ballots from the sealed lock box and take them to the hall. Others at other work sites trickled in and out of the hall all day to return their ballots.

At the Tuesday night meeting, the results were announced. There will be a run-off in two categories but there were winners in all the others. VP? Well, no one else seemed to be surprised by the winner except for my friend and I. Your girl MrsSaditty won by 76%. It took nearly an hour for it to sink in. The elections committee went on with arranging the run off in the other categories as my friend and I sat down in awe. She joked about a recount but I doubt that she was serious. After everything settled in and the meeting adjourned, I calmly walked to my truck. After shutting the door and buckling the old seat belt, the celebration began. I screamed, danced, called my husband, my mama, my daddy...everybody. I could not believe I won. I mean I must've rejoiced for over twenty minutes...praising HIM, laughing crying...I was a big bag of emotions.

When I made it home, the voice of reason in my life (MrS) told me that he was so proud of me for winning but disappointed that I doubted myself.  We talked and got everything straight and I went to sleep a happy girl.

The life lesson learned? You can go about things in two ways: you can be a people pleaser and overextend yourself by being nice and doing favors...you can:

A. Run yourself down making sure that people think and say good things about you, include you in the "in" crowd, and are impressed by your magnetic and wonderful personality...OR,

B. You can learn to be happy with yourself and learn to say "no" when it means sacrificing the things you love and believe in. You can be the underdog and crusade for what is right, even if it means going against the grain. You can let your good but silent deeds speak for you.

With the first choice, you are guaranteed to be well liked and be the constant subject of pleasant conversation. With the second choice, you gain self-satisfaction and sleep soundly at night knowing that you've done all you could to make things right and well.

Think about the people who voted for me....yep, the same people who said really foul stuff and swore they would never check the box next to my name. But when the time came for them to choose, what do you suppose they thought about? The countless free lunches, ego stroking, martini parties, etc. or the fact that many of them had discipline removed or still had a job because of my passion? I can live with the fact that I am not well liked in my workplace(and yes, it kinda hurts man) but the fact that I am respected? Well....let's just say that respect feels better than money in the bank!!

Peace ya'll....Mrs Saditty (the veepee!!!!)