as the title indicates, this blog is coming to you live from phoenix, arizona. i’ve been here since saturday, enjoying christmas with the family. it’s really nice and pretty here- sunny and warm (think 70 degree weather) and any place that you can find mommy, the sissies, my lil bro, and the general (aka my stepfather) is alright with me.

christmas here was great. we went to church, then came back and opened some gifts. as i said before, it’s not really about the gifts so much as it’s about spending time with the family. the sissies and the lil bro are HILARIOUS and they are growing up so fast. pretty soon they’ll be doing the college search, and to the general’s and mommy’s delight, getting up out of their house. time flies when you’re having fun. one thing i have loved about being here is being able to eat all of my mommy’s food. she’s been cooking it up this week- chicken, ham, casseroles, mac and cheese, veggies. trust and believe, i’ve ALREADY started looking into the workouts that will be necessary to get the swimsuit physique.

being here has also given me time to think about the things that are really important to me. 2005 has been an awesome year, filled with so much more than i ever expected; and i know that 2006 will be even better. i don’t generally deal in regrets because i believe that everything that has happened has been fashioned for some purpose. however, i know that for 2006 i’ma do a better job of keeping in touch with my friends. it’s been rough feeling/falling out of the loop with friends, and even more difficult trying to get back in. it’s all good though…it’s gonna be a new year and GOD will be doing a NEW thing. i’m excited.

so…perhaps i’ll write more later. or maybe i won’t. either way, be blessed and be encouraged! peace and blessings…

it’s getting close to christmas and i’m excited. when i was a kid, i used to ask for christmas presents in april…just went ahead and started making some extremely long list of stuff that i didn’t really need, but i thought it would be cool to have.

as i get older, i realize the importance of spending time with family and those that you love at christmas (not that you shouldn’t spend time with them at other times, but the holiday season just adds a whole different perspective). when i was younger, we used to have christmas breakfast with my mom’s side of the family (all of her 11 siblings and their families would pile into one house for breakfast and exchange gifts) and it was sooooo much fun. after that we would trek down to have dinner with my dad’s side of the family. since i’ve been away at school, and because of other situations with the family (divorce, family fallouts, etc), the christmas gatherings have been smaller than they have been when i was younger, and people have been getting older and having their own family gatherings. it’s weird to observe how things have changed.

at any rate, i’m crunk to be going home and spending some time with the family. my sisters and my brother are getting so big and they definitely think that they are grown. it’s gonna be good times.

and a couple of other things…i don’t know what BET was thinking with their christmas special. if you saw it, then you know. if not, just know that bobby valentino ruining “let it snow” and grinding while he was singing…was just a HAM. when you do christmas specials, you’re supposed to have people who have ESTABLISHED careers singing the songs. you know…the classics…and there’s no way that you can convince me that bobby valentino or trey songz will be looked upon as a classic. they got a couple of songs…and that’s about it. bet execs should be fired. or shot. or both.

next thing about christmas…EVERYONE should not have a christmas cd, but it seems like this is the thing to do in music. if you think i’m lying, just check the christmas cd cart at your local walmart/bestbuy/kmart/circuit city. you’ll be surprised when you see some of the people who have christmas cds. i mean really, if you can’t sing otherwise, what in the world would make you think that Jesus wants an entire cd of your music for his birthday. hmmm…just doesn’t make sense to me…

finally…churches cancelling service on christmas day is pretty wack. i mean, you’d normally have service on a sunday…so why not on THIS sunday…where we celebrate the birth of Jesus who was born to die for us. yeah, that’s some celebration for him. i’m sure he’s excited. i know a lot of churches are saying they cancelled church so that people could spend time with their families, and while i do feel that family time is important, EVERYBODY got that person in their family who ain’t saved and needs to have their behind in church. christmas day seems like a good time for that to take place…

so there are my thoughts about christmas. be blessed y’all. it’s better to give than receive. the best gifts aren’t THINGS. cherish the time spent with family, friends, and other loved ones. remember that JESUS is the REASON for the SEASON. merry CHRISTmas…