I am off to sunny Florida for the weekend! Will holla at ya'll on Monday when I return. Enjoy the warm weather, the parades, the parties and all the yummy candy!!!
And try to steer clear of eggs tonight! 
"I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween."
"I have come to the conclusion that until I find and heal the fears in me that I do not know about, and those that I do know about, I will not be able to contribute much that will not be part of the many challenges we face – such as brutality, poverty, drug abuse, child abuse, abuse of the environment, and abuse of women, to name a few."
. I attended the VIP Post Dinner Reception in honor of the TMCF Staff and the 21st Anniversary Awards Dinner & Leadership Institute Management Team. (Was that a mouthful or what?)
I had a plus one so I scooped up my girl Deb and we hopped on the D train for the short ride downtown.
into the beautiful Shrimp appetizer that sat before us. The whole event was a very classy, elegant affair. Actress Nia Long was the next presenter up and while she was presenting my eyes scanned the room and I caught a glimpse of photographer Keith Major and actor Malik Yoba (NY Undercover), I made a mental note to try and get a photo later.
opportunity to make a quick run to the ladies room. On my way back, I looked up in enough time to see Malik Yoba do a double take (lol....I love it when that happens!) but unfortunately I didn't have my camera at that moment. A few of the students recognized me and I stopped to chat and pose for a few pictures.
University Jazz Ensemble had taken the stage and yeah....folks were STILL talking...lol. Rhonda Ross-Kendrick stopped by our table to greet me and to tell me she enjoyed my work on the runway at the Fashion Show Friday. As I was about to sit back down, another young man caught my eye and as is typical of 
me...I stopped him and asked him his name. I don't know what it was but I just saw something in him that made me want to find out what he was about. He reminded me so very much of my best childhood bud the late Thomas Brock Jr. I found out that his name is Jordan and he is a senior at John Jay HS in Hopewell Junction. He introduced to his father (they were both seated at the table next to ours) and we chatted for a while, took a photo and we exchanged contact info. He's quite the little cutie and I loved his energy! He hopes to attend a university in Texas in the fall and I get the feeling that he's gonna do really well.
musical performance by Tony Rich, who got a much better reception than poor Jon B. did. As we (Deb & I) scanned the program our heats began to race at the sight of the name of the final honoree for the evening....Janet Jackson!!!! When I heard the announcement coming from actors Michael Jai White & Malik Yoba 
baby I grabbed my camera and sprinted to the front to get some really good shots of the Diva!! So you KNOW my heart sank when I saw her mug UP ON THE VIDEO SCREEN accepting her award. I was totally bummed.
t where the private VIP reception was being held. On the way out I ran into Walter Greene, Photographer Donn Thompson and designer Donna Dove (lol...been seeing those two all weekend!) and on the way up I saw Devon Christopher (Bleu Magazine) on his way down. We checked out the ballroom on the 3rd floor where the general after party was being held. Someone whispered the number of the suite where the VIP's were and we were off!
(who is every bit as foine in person as he appears on TV!) and Michael Jai White.
Marshall Prestige Awards Reception at Saks Fifth Avenue the following evening. I agreed and I decided to wear his signature color block wrap dress (a dress I had been coveting for YEARS now!)...
beautiful shoes!! As I reached the reception desk I saw the beautiful smiling face of Nakeisha Jennings who works for the fund. I picked up a program out front and was headed to the coat check area to drop off my bag but I got sidetracked at the bar where they were giving out free makeovers and massages. First familiar face (besides the photographer, who got a great shot of me as soon as I arrived) was that of my girl Yvette Heyward & Manhattan Deputy Borough President Rosamund Pierre-Louis.
looked stunning in it. I got briefly distracted by the makeup artists who were lining the bar at the entrance giving out free makeovers and massages. I paused for a moment to let the ladies play in my face for a while and then I made my through the room.
I paused for a moment to say hello to award honoree Memsor Kamarake, Fashion Director and Stylist of Vibe Magazine; who I bonded with immediately when we traveled to Guyana last year for Fashion Week. I also got a moment to talk to
Stylist 
Carlton Spence (who I had just hung out with on Saturday night) and cake designer Margo Lewis (who I sat with as they passed out the awards. 
Wendy Williams was also on hand to accept her award and I almost managed to snag a photo but her husband gave me a very gruff "No Pictures" and sent me on my way.....with Wendy telling me how much she hates taking photos...she doesn't think she takes a decent photo. I did however meet her son, who was most gracious (we had to work briefly on that limp handshake he gave me).
Also receiving an award on this evening was my favorite restauranteur Melba Wilson of Melba's Restaurant in Harlem. I spoke briefly to Vibe's Editor-In-Chief, Danyel Smith and as soon as they gave out the last award I was on a mission to find Memsor and drill him again about using plus sized models in their fashion layouts! And to my surprise - he told me he was already scheduled to begin doing that shortly! (More on that as I find out the details!). I briefly chatted with Melba before heading out. The other award honorees were Saundtra Parks (The Daily Blossom), Susan Davenport Austin (Sheridan Gospel Network), DeJuan Wilson (Bad Boy Worldwide) & Spencer Means (The Corcoran Group). Congratulations to all of the honorees!I stopped to say my goodbyes and pick up my goody bag from Nakeisha who was cool enough to invite me to the final award festivities at The Sheraton Hotel the following evening. I held my breath as I had to walk through that shoe salon again to get to the elevators...I got hung up when I reached the Louboutin pumps (and the salesperson thought it cool to tell me they carried MY size - a size 12....lol...like I have $300-$400 bucks to spend on some shoes!!!). I managed to get out of that shoe salon with my dignity (and my pocketbook) still intact and headed out into the warm night home.
Two events down and one more to go........
“Education is not received. It is achieved."
"Every man has his own special dream, and your dreams' just about to come true. Life's not as bad as it may seem if you open your eyes to what's in front of you."
Her name is Linda (Cleveland ) Josephs and we became fast friends when we were both kids residing at "Tuxedo Court" lol...which was located at 30 East 128th Street (where the Legal Aid building now sits). We both wound up attending the same church growing up (Shiloh Church of Christ Disciples of Christ) located up the street from our home...right across 5th Avenue.
dropped off my bags and tipped in those patent leather boots to the church. Linda was upstairs getting ready so I stuck my head in the door of the choir room and let her know I was there. Then I headed back downstairs to the sanctuary to wait for the show to begin. While I was waiting I saw several people I hadn't seen in many years and just sitting there began to bring up so many old memories for me.
and entered the sanctuary singing in those lol...awful green dresses (yeah...I can say that now). The congregation went absolutely NUTS because no one had ever done a presentation like that before!!! I still smile to this day at the very thought of that performance.
Green; the MC for the evening, Sis. Delores Sessoms took the stage and the program began with a solo delivered by Sister Shirley Henderson.
There was a selection by The Male Chorus of Shiloh before the final scene that I thoroughly enjoyed. 
“The church is the great lost and found department.”
Police searching for actress Jennifer Hudson’s missing seven-year-old nephew say they have found the body of a young black boy in a sports utility vehicle.
The missing child, Julian King, has not been seen since Friday, when Hudson’s mother and brother were found shot to death.
The bodies of Julian’s grandmother, 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, and his uncle Jason Hudson, 29, were discovered lying in the home they shared on the city’s South Side. Police issued an Amber Alert search notice for Julian and were looking for a 1994 white Chevrolet Suburban.
Hudson offered a $100,000 reward for her nephew’s safe return.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office and Chicago Police Department sent officials to the scene of a white SUV on the city’s West Side early today. There was no confirmation of the identity of the body, and police have so far refused to comment.
Television footage showed police vehicles escorting a flatbed tow truck as it took the SUV away from the scene. Police later said that the number on the license plate on the vehicle matched the number listed in their earlier alert.
Julian is the son of Jennifer Hudson’s sister, Julia Hudson. The police initially identified William Balfour, the estranged husband of Julia Hudson and stepfather of Julian King, as a suspect in the case. The 27-year-old baker has convictions for attempted murder, carjacking and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
He was released from prison in May 2006 and is still on probation. He was not living with his estranged wife at the time of the shooting. The couple had recently fought because Mr Balfour had sold Ms Hudson’s car without her permission, according to local media reports.
On Friday, Chicago police had taken Mr Balfour into custody for questioning over the deaths but the missing boy was not with him.
“We are doing that as a precautionary measure,” Superintendent Jody Weis, of the Chicago police, said in a television interview.
He added that the murders and the child’s disappearance seemed to be part of a domestic dispute. “From what we know right now, it appears to be some type of domestic situation but that is very preliminary. We just have to follow the evidence.”
Yesterday, Mr Balfour was transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections “based on his active parole violation unrelated to this investigation.”
I gotta tell you fam, this latest update breaks my heart....it really does. I don't know what kind of beef the killer had with this family - this child is/was an innocent. Did you hear me??? An INNOCENT!!! What EVER was going down here....we already know this baby had nothing to do with it. This is a damn shame. An absolute atrocity.
One more thing....Is it me or is something a little "fishy" with this entire story? From what I was reading it appears that the killer(s)? were after the brother and the mother walked in on it. I can't think of a single reason to kill that child other than him being a witness to the killings. I do hope the police and the FBI can clear all of this up quickly and hopefully give the family the tiniest bit of peace of mind.
More updates to come when I have them.
"The family is one of nature's masterpieces."
We exited the D train at the Seventh Avenue stop and quickly made our way into Roseland. We stopped briefly in the vestibule to check out a few dress forms, artfully draped in multi colored fabrics and pinned into dress shapes; and then we headed backstage to meet up with designer Douglas Says. One of the first people I ran into was producer Aminah Benjamin, who was holding it down in the back along with the rest of the Ground Crew.
We found Douglas easily and after a quick briefing on what we'd be wearing in the show, we headed over to the refreshment area to get a quick snack before going over to hair (lol..well not me for hair) and makeup. I retrieved a shrimp salad wrap, a small mixed salad and a Fresca and took a seat on a stool to chat with Diva & Douglas. We'd been talking about 10-15 minutes before we heard some squealing behind us....we looked up and saw makeup artist Tara Taylor, who was absolutely overjoyed at the sight of us. We both got excited quickly as well, because we knew at the sight of Tara that our faces were going to be DONE-DONE-DONE!!!!
After finishing up my lunch, I quickly made my way to the makeup area where Tara was waiting for me. The look for the show was a black smoky eye with a red lip. I sat back and got comfortable as Tara began to work her magic. When she finished I barely recognized myself! Diva (Gwen) sat in her chair next and I decided to walk around to see what I could see.....
The Honorees: 
My straight sized Diva's were also in the house....Roz, Lu, Stacy McKenzie and Shailah Edwards. At around 6pm all the models were gathered for a brief run through and it was over quicker than you could say boo. The show was scheduled to begin at 8pm and after a brief delay, the host of the evening's festivities, Tamara Tunie (Law & Order SVU) took the stage. I got to talk briefly with honoree Audrey Smaltz, who looked absolutely stunning in a Douglas Says custom designed dress in a midnight blue tie dyed print. Also backstage helping out was swimwear designer Roger Gary & Leonard Davis (sporting a cute new do')
And speaking of love....I wasn't the only one who noticed the LACK of drama in the backstage area for this particular show. Unlike fashion shows in the past (RTR heh-heh) there wasn't any of the "So who's gonna do the makeup for the plus size girls?" crap this go round. Everyone got the same treatment across the board and NO ONE was stuck in the position of having to do their own hair or makeup (which is often the case for my juicy gals). 
the room unencumbered. It was packed and I grabbed a bartender and immediately secured 3 glasses of champagne (courtesy of Moet & Chandon, the drink sponsor for the event).
"What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul."
