Vixen Chronicles

I don’t seem to be able to take a trip, rather I have Adventures. I can’t tell you what it is about my karma, but things just happen to me when I travel. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I knew that this trip to Miami would be no different. The first thing that I noticed was that there was a dress code, or should I call it a “lack of dress” code. The men all seemed to be wearing white and the woman, no matter if they were a size 2 or 22, all were naked. Well, nearly naked. Thankfully, most folks do realize that not everything is for everybody. Just because they manaufacture it doesn’t mean you should wear it . Really. Things that look cute on that twiggy size two model will not look the same on your size 14 (or larger) hips. I guarantee it. But these particular citizens folks seemed to have missed that. Anyway, I’d gotten off the plane hungry adn my hosts insisted that I shower and change my clothes so I could eat and properly experience Miami. A girl’s gotta eat,...

I have been procrastinating on posting my May reading list this time, probably because there was only one GREAT book in it. The rest were books that I had to finish since I'd started them. 1- Getting Even by Kayla Perrin. I waited to talk about this book in the SPice line of books. Spice books are erotic novels, and since I wanted to write them I have to do research, right? Great cover, but I had to ask the author some questions. Fortunately I was able to ask her at this year's Romantic Times Magazine conference. I needed to know: What's a nub? What does "smoking up" mean? It hit me during our conversation that although the book was supposed to take place in Atlanta, there were times when the characters slipped into Canadian-ese. You see, Kayla is from Canada. There were also times when the nuances of Black American "high society" were just missed and seemed, well just un-black. I did love the way she wove the women's stories together even ...

When I moved to Texas for the second time (about ten years ago), I came from Arizona. Yes, it was hot as all get out, but one of the things that Arizona had going for it was that there were very few flying insects and creepy crawlies because there is just very little moisture in the air. Sure, we ran into the occasional scorpion, but these were the little pink variety, easily controlled by the exterminator. Long before I got here, I kept hearing, "The bugs are everywhere!" I thought folks were just exaggerating. Well, lawd, Lawd, lawd, everything is bigger in Texas. We have been in our house a long time and I am still encountering creepy crawlies. Spiders, little wormy looking things, and yes, scorpions. I like to think I'm kinda tough, but the sight of an insect REALLY freaks me out. When you give birth, you learn to be strong about a lot of things, but I had to check myself a few years ago when my then two year old thought the name for a spider was a Mo---- F----...

Yesterday was the hottest day on record in central Texas and of course I would pick this day to check out a new mall in my new area. And yes, it was outside. The mall was beautiful, but who'da thunk that someone would envision an open air mall in this area of the country? These are fine, say in Detroit or southern california, but Texas? Lawd, Lawd, Lawd. I mean, there were water features everywhere and great stonework that you couldl hardly see because it was so hot it was like the air was wavering. You know what I mean, like on those old western films where people see mirages. So, maybe I wasn't at the mall, maybe when I realized that I was sweating (or glowing) in my designer jeans I started to imagine that I was in a mall. Several of the stores had the door wide open and I could feel the air conditioning hit me. Needless to say I lingered in front of thsoe stores, and then, when I couldn't take it anymore, I ducked into Neiman Marcus and just stayed for awhile. ...

Sometimes you just want to do something different. I like to watch what I eat, so when friends suggested we go out to eat, I scowled. I didn't want to eat and I have to admit I don't have the willpower not to eat while others do. You know how it is, you try to be good but then that chip tortures you and forces you had to pick it up, or that "just a little taste" of dessert turns into scarfing down half of whatever sinful chocolate concoction they sit in front of you. My friends turned out to be my true friends so instead of going to eat for happy hour in an attempt to fatten each other up, we ended up at a wine tasting bar, CORK & Co. on Congress avenue. I had never been to this place, never heard of it actually, until one of us spied it online somewhere a couple of weeks ago. There are times in the week when I dread going downtown. Parking is horrible and it is downtown, and of course I am cash challenged and can never valet park, so instead I am usually st...

I taped a television show last night. The topic of the show was"How to Make your man do anything you want...and like it." I gotta tell you, when they first asked me to be on the show, I wasn't sure WHY they asked me. But, as it turns out, I do write relationship novels and flap my lips in this blog quite a bit, so they thought I would have a lot to say. And you know what, I did. The show will air in the fall and it is The Family Digest Show. Check out Family Digest Magazine. http://www.familydigest.com/ There were two other panelist besides myself,one a psychotherapist who writes a column for the mag, and the other, a long time married man. We talked about how to make a man happy, etc, etc, and what it seemed to boil down to was that the woman needed to be happy with and know herself to make someone else happy. Oh, and the man wanted it known that it was important not to nag. (!) They asked us what we thought a man wanted from a relationship. Myself and the psyc...