Happy Birthday, Dr. King

I awoke this morning at 6 am. I was thinking of what to make for breakfast.  I got on my laptop and started going through my favorite blogs because I always am inspired by life and it was here I saw an entry for Monkey Bread.  We LOVE Monkey Bread! The recipe used was from Martha Stewart but I liked the one I have used before from

Mixing

Kneading

Yay! It's finally done!

never fails me. The delicious buttery balls, enveloped in brown sugar sweetness. Bread in and of itself is a heady, and aromatic indulgence when homemade. Bliss.

I wanted to do something today with my family, the kids and myself, for the day. I thought of making a card, but then decided after searching on the internet for a nice image of Dr King and found an activity to do about creating an MLK Jr acrostic poem .

Here is the acrostic we created-

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Poole-White Family Acrostic

C is for Character
I is for Illuminate
V is for Victory
I is for Integrity
L is for Life

R is for Respect
I is for Injustice
G is for Gain and Glory
H is for Hope
T is for Truth
S is for Segregated No More

and we read

On WYNC, New York Public Radio, I continued to listen about the awful devastation facing the people in Haiti. I have been listening, viewing, and reading since the beginning. What is apparent to me is my response continues to be as sorrowful as it was upon my initial hearing. As with all natural disasters you pray and do what you can to help others in need. But, when listening to WYNC this morning I overheard a commentator state that this country's recovery is more troubling because of the lack of Haitian people who have advanced education and degrees in which the country can utilize to mobilize their country out of the devastation. The economic plight of the country will only increase due this. And this knowledge mobilizes me as a teacher. I am mobilized for change. I am .

Cinnamon Bread

This is the best cinnamon bread you are ever gonna eat. The outside is so crusty and sweet from the cinnamon sugar mix. And the inside has a really moist crumb. It really is divine.
The recipe comes from





and it is really easy to make. This is a great book to have because there are some really nice recipes and home ideas that are very easy to incorporate into your routine when you want to get all homey and comfy on the weekends with activities that have big bang for little investment with a lot of WOW. Every time I look through this book, I want to throw a party, decorate, or cook up a storm. It's all about family and friends.

Sunday Braiding (pt II)

This is weekend hair braiding. It was getting late on Saturday. When this happens, we finish braids on Sunday evening after church service or before afternoon church service. I usually do a simple style. The special occasion gets more braids. This is a school style to make hair styling easy for us during the hectic weekdays ahead. It's just brush to smooth and we're done!

For an inspirational books on African braided styles look for magazines in beauty supply stores that service ethnic women or Sally Beauty Supply. Also-

 Very Fancy!

Saturday hair rituals with my girls

Every Saturday, I wash, blow -dry, and braid my two younger daughters hair. They have a lot of hair. It is a ritual that I feel is important. A time to connect with them. To build loving memories by sharing talk, singing, debating, and learning together. In the end, we all appreciate the outcome. I have two great hair models.

The New Year 2010

2010

I always have a hard time when then New Year rolls in. My mind does a jog back in time to all the things I did not get to do last year and applies these to the upcoming months ahead for my never ending list of possibilities for the New Year.

This is a blessed time in my life. I am doing things I never thought I would be doing. Living a life that I never thought I would be living and I am so thankful to God for the blessings He has showered upon my family and me.

Of course, there are the travels in life where you can feel like you have just been flung from a cliff with chains wrapped and locked on your body and you sink down, down, down, into an abyss of doubting despair. Then remembering, God would not put on me more than I can bear. How uplifting that thought is! That is what I think about when I feel overwhelmed. I am blessed!

Then there is family. Uncles, aunts, grandparents, brothers and sisters. God gave us families. I love mine. Unique and then again much in common with others.

This picture was taken after the girls came back from shopping for these dolls with Grandpa. Their first shopping stop was at the major children's toy store in our town. I have weaned my children from this store, and we have come to appreciate handmade or unique, personal toys to play with.

I have this book. I have not used it yet, but it has been poured over again and again. It is my hope to be able to make my girls something from this little book this year before they out grow dolls (Noooo!).

This and others join my list, from 2009 to 2010 as follows:

1. 
   
   
   
   Quilting, basically learning and creating
   
   
   
   
   
2. 
   
   
   
   Dolls, I love them
   
   
   
   
   
3. 
   
   
   
   Cooking, it's my true passion
   
   
   
   
   
4. 
   
   
   
   Sewing, I used to do this all the time, frustration took me from it
   
   
   
   
   
5. 
   
   
   
   Writing, I think I'll have a go again
   
   
   
   
   
6. 
   
   
   
   Reading, Just for the love of it
   
   
   
   
   
7. 
   
   
   
   Houseplants, I have a lonely one,  I need a guide
   
   
   
   
   

I am reading some history these days. I mean, it's important to me. I have been working on knowing about my ancestry and the History of Africans and mixed-race people with African ancestry in America. I found this book at my college bookstore on the clearance shelves. It has become a very invaluable resource in genealogy research.

Well, that's it. I mean there could be a lot more, of course. But, I think that's enough. Happy New Year to all of you! And may you too be BLESSED !