the house of miss birdie

So, I've been busy. So many things have happened since the last time I've shared with you. Nowadays, I'm doing motivational speaking, writing adult books and expanding my brand exponentially and I'm so excited. SO EXCITED!!!! Saggy Boobs is a memoir about my journey until now and I can't wait to share it with you. I named my book after a moment in time that I really didn't feel good about myself. I was tired, broke and sad. I was at a party and was so uncomfortable already with the crazy events at the party. It was ugly, me and 2 other exes were at the party. I tried to play it cool, but I got a hot flash. I rushed into a room, and while taking off my sweater, my shirt caught onto my sweater and for a millisecond, my stomach was exposed. I quickly put it down but when I turned my head, my son's father was standing in the doorway and had caught it. He had this look on his face that unnerved me. We were in a bad place at this point with a custody battle ...

Last night, I cried proud tears when Frances McDormand stood up with pride amongst women in Hollywood and told the seated men to think of and include these women when they negotiate their contracts. I was so happy. I knew that she included me. Then I saw black women on twitter say, “Well how does Inclusion Riders help other black women?” I felt a punch in the gut.  We saw firsthand what inclusion rider was when Jessica Chastain did it for Octavia Spencer. They were negotiating with the studio to make their own movie. Because Jessica stood with Octavia, Octavia got 5 times more than she would have gotten. That was with Jessica just to just have equal pay. Yes, Equal Pay. On one hand, I see what the women on Twitter meant, because in our experience, it has been proven that black women shattering the glass ceiling is even harder than it is for a white woman, let alone any man of any color.  It’s been our experience that the world...

Yesterday, I watched the 20/20 exclusive Robin Roberts interview with 2 of the 3 kidnapping survivors from Cleveland: Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus. (Michelle Knight, not interviewed, was the first woman kidnapped) and I was glued to the screen the entire time. It was a great interview. These women had serious strength and showed great courage despite the circumstances at hand and their survival instincts to stay alive were inspiring. At the time of their kidnapping,  Gina was just 14, Amanda was almost 17. On Twitter, I saw some feedback with people asking why would the young ladies get into a car with a stranger. Answer to that is, this man was no stranger. This man preyed on his own children's friends and took advantage of the fact that these girls were familiar with him. Problem is, this can happen oh so easily. I have a now 11-year old son. And like so many other families, we have a daily routine. The driver of our daily bus ride that we do small talk with, the crossing ...

So, game on, y’all. Been in hibernation for awhile, hence the Groundhog Day. Well not really hibernating. Ok, so it seems like it because I’ve been scarce. But since my last blog, I recorded and released my first album, Scandal. I am really proud of it. It started out as a bucket list/promise fulfilled. But it unveiled something in me that I missed so much. An evolution of expression. I dug deep and meant every word. I do karaoke about once a month and although I bring the house down when I do it, the songs are still someone else’s. I wrote and sung my own songs and it was an emotional undertaking. It’s not the most quality sound but it’s me. Raw and I absolutely love it. My next plan is to release videos for 2 songs on the album: “Pretty” and “Lose Again”, when the weather gets warmer. It has been so cold out there. Besides my music, I released 4 hard copies of my children’s books: Stickboy and Cookie are Friends, Cookie’s First Day of School, Don’t be a Follower, Stickbo...

Ok. So I've been "finishing" my memoir, "Saggy Boobs, Stretch Marks and Saddle Bags" for the past year. And although the anticipation is building and my friends & fans are patiently waiting, I'm still struggling to finish. I even have the cover of the book done.  Mind you, the chapters are finished. I know that my book needs a little more "Me" behind it but subconsciously, I've honestly been looking for every excuse in the world not to finish. I didn't know why.  Then I thought about it, as public as I am, I'm realizing that the constant unveiling of myself within this book  reveals a chunk of exiled pain, in which by keeping it locked inside, I've hurt myself so much.  The book is a mental and emotional exposé of sorts, a way for me to let go because I'm important to myself and my life story hasn't reflected that. I don't want to hide anymore. I'm hoping that my stories that caused me to hide from life in the fi...

In 2013, I've had several scares. In January, there was the breast cancer scare. Benign. In March, I got hit by a car. I'm alive. In September, I had a biopsy on my thyroid. Benign. I'm healthy and I want to world to know that I'm fine!!!  Passing it all with flying colors. And that's just 2013. So now, I am moving towards my next birthday with a huge weight off of me. Funny thing about relief. The valleys become wider. The sun, moon and stars shine brighter. And your dreams are bigger again. Possibilities are endless all over again. I call it belief relief . When you get that sigh of relief and breathe fresh air, that's the perfect time to pounce on your dreams and make it real. Like actually hold it in your hands and make all things you've ever dreamed of, real. Belief in self, pursued with gusto and new life. So. I'm back. I speak with more authority. Focus is crisp. My thoughts are clear. My love is so much more passionate. I've had mo...

So, I've know that I've been M.I.A. (Missing In Action) lately. Most of 2012 to be exact. When the year started and the ball dropped, I knew everything was different, I felt fresher, creative and optimistic about everything. From finishing books and illustrations to expanding my book writing business to include adult and YA fiction. Editing opportunities multiplied Then, at the very beginning of the year, the sledgehammer dropped. My son got very sick and nothing else mattered but him. Although there was nothing I could have done, I was guilty of being so busy and self-involved that I had been neglecting my son's needs. But I now I know that was not true and there was nothing I could have done differently to prevent any of it.  But EVERYTHING (not Bam-related) was getting dropped. I picked up the tiniest of editing jobs, just to keep some income, but nothing overly time consuming. Money was starting to be a huge problem for the first time in years. Then the custody bat...