Moon Mami Writes

( In photo: Our well-fed family ) ( In photo: The family after some hearty eating on Thanksgiving 2009) Yeay! Thanksgiving dinner was a success! And to think you were worried! Ok, I admit, I was pretty darn scared. I will be honest, too. The pumpkin pies were not that great, but, hey, who is counting when the turkey was divine! (In photo : The little one was in charge of table decor.) ( In photo: The man of the house injects the bird with some taste goods ) ( In photo: The beautiful bird. And, yes, it was slathered in olive-oil based mayo ) ( In photo: Our spread-- green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, turkey, gravy cranberry sauce & mac & cheese with a twis t) So, hopefully you are up to speed on my cooking tribulations. I am not the world's greatest cook. I am not the greatest cook on my block, nor in my house. That award goes to my dear partner who has the cooking skills of any of those on the Food Network. I swear. His skills are that good. But, he only lets those of ...

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays... and one of the major reasons is the eating to be done on this day. Yes, the food. The yamming down. The munching and crunching. The eats, the sweets and the drinks. It is this society's only day when it is acceptable to gorge oneself on the best meat, vegetables, starches and desserts you can find. Who doesn't love that? But, most of all, what other day do you get to gorge yourself and tell your family you love them and are grateful for them in a crowded room or on a blog and not be self-conscious or be perceived as just overly geeked and pressed? Valentine's day is mainly for sweethearts and Christmas is mainly about giving big-ups to Jesus Christ. No, Thanksgiving is the only nation-sanctioned, societally-supported day to give the entire family shout-outs (or at least the members you actually want to give shout-outs to. Let's be real, everyone doesn't get props). So, here is my list of Thanksgiving shout-outs (in no p...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I have never prepared a Thanksgiving meal by myself. I have never hosted people over for Thanksgiving. Technically, I won't be doing either tomorrow. But, alas, I will be preparing the Thanksgiving bird. Of course, my spouse will be supervising all activity I'm involved in in the kitchen, but, I will be in charge of the turkey ultimately. For most women, this is expected. For me, this is a totally new experience because I have always been the family eater. When folks needed a test subject, that was me. I have honed the gift of eating other people's cooking. Hence, my own cooking skills have never fully been stretched to their potential. Of course there are the common food concoctions I've mastered-- spaghetti, grilled chicken, heating up of canned items, etc., but a big, whole, turkey? No. Never did it. Seasoning is a big thing for me (I admit I do make spicy foods well because I love seasoning) so the prospect of seasoning a big ole bird is a ...

I've been to four states in the past month along the east coast and in the midwest-- Florida, North Carolina, New York and Kentucky. While New York was for business (presenting in a conference), Kentucky and North Carolina were travels that were more personal. Kentucky's visit was one to determine if Kentucky will be our new home while North Carolina's visit was a sad send-off of my little brother to war in Afghanistan. So, the Florida two-day visit was a very well-needed vacay that didn't require much thinking, emotion, or prep. The biggest concern was deciding between going to the pool or heading to an amusement park. Everyone needs a break. Not sure if mine was long enough though. When I returned from Florida yesterday, the feeling of stress quickly grabbed ahold. I had to get into producer mode for the 7pm Liberated Muse event--Capital Rhythm and Soul. This was especially challenging because my business partner actually had another event he was co-producing with co-...

( In photo: Me performing earlier this year. I'm anticipating my set this Friday) So, this Friday, I will be performing in a show I'm producing for Liberated Muse Productions. What most folks don't realize is that I am reactivating a performance career that was pretty much put on hold for about four years when I became a Mommy. Now, I didn't disappear from the arts during those four years-- I still actively wrote and produced shows for the jobs I had since giving birth, but, I wasn't performing--singing, specifically-- like I had been doing before becoming Mommy to Khari. So, the task of putting together a set, getting yourself vocally ready and just being stage ready is something I am still growing into again. I've been performing this past year and a half with the Saartjie Project, singing and acting, but a set that has you singing for 20 minutes + straight is a bit different. The performance at the Green Fest last month was my debut doing a full set. Gary a...

( In photo: Me with artist Marshetta Davis who is in the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul and in the Celebration of Freedom exhibit .) Yesterday afternoon was the first art opening hosted by my group Liberated Muse Productions. Our exhibit, Celebration of Freedom, was inspired by the book I edited Liberated Muse Volume I:How I Free My Soul. Artists featured in the book and artists part of our network http://www.liberatedmuse.com/ who are part of the exhibit were on hand yesterday to talk about their art, mingle with guests and sell their art. ( In photo: Artists featured in the art exhibit-- Pru Bonds, Sherry Burton-Ways, James Terrell and Sharon Burton who is in the exhibit, created the cover art for the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul and curated the exhibit) Almost all of the artists (8 of the 10) showed up last night, supported by friends and family members to take part in the artist talk and enjoy refreshments provided by the venue hosting ...

Today is a reception for the artists in the art exhibit Liberated Muse is showcasing in the "Celebration of Freedom" currently up at the Potter's House. It's from 4-6pm at the Potter's House. I've been really happy that my organization Liberated Muse has been able to create venues for visual artists as well as performing artists. Our social network http://www.liberatedmuse.com/ has been a community full of all kind of artists-- from literary artists and performing artists to visual artists and fiber artists. Exhibitions were only a matter of time. It's thrilling to see the community grow and the events increase. If you're reading this, hope you can make it today. If not, make sure you mark next Friday, Nov. 20 for your calendar. Click here for the details . I'm performing with Gary & Angie and there are other fabulous artists performing. As I get ready today, I grabbed a snapshot of a piece my daughter was working on this morning. "Alien...