TinaNoir

Last year we had guests and I cooked and I had to juggle so many dietary preferences. It was a LOT. This year, we decided to be lowkey. It'll just be my husband, and my sons this year. Open our gifts and we'll go out to dinner.

I don;t get into it like I used to when I was younger, but the snow, lights in the neighborhood, and the music.

A guy I was dating gave me a key to his apartment.

He gave me the key like a) I had been asking for it (I had no desire) and b) like it was a ring (thank goodness it wasn't that either). And he made a whole damn production out of it.

Like, sir, we are not in it for the long haul!

My husband was always complaining he never had time to go to the gym, so I got him a home gym -- weight bench, weights, battle ropes, pull up station, mats, plyometric blocks, treadmill

to be fair... the treadmill was for me...

As a kid... I got a Barbie styling head and everything to go with it. And a real electric typewriter.

As an adult, my husband surprised me with heated leather seats and an auto starter/warmer for my car.

Christmas in NYC is wonderful.

All the cookies....

Die Hard
Home Alone
Almost Christmas
Santa Clause is Coming to Town
It's a Wonderful Life

Any version of Carol of the Bells. I have a playlist somewhere with every version I could find.

Yolanda Adams' Carol of the Bells/What Child is this is my favorite version.

Real.

One year all the cousins (there were about 9 of us at the time) stayed Xmas eve at my grandparents house while our parents went out. We had a big slumber party and when we got up, under the Xmas tree was was bursting with stuff. We all opened our gifts and my grandad made us pancakes.

I have been pretty privileged to have been able to get what I wanted.

Yes. But they figured it out.

Hmmm.... I don't remember. I wanna say about 7?

Yes. My childhood memories of the Holidays were like what you see on tv. The house was decorated to the max, watched all the Rankin/Bass shows, music, food and family everywhere...

My son, who went across the country for school, will be home for a week. We didn't think he'd want to fly back this first year but he is making it happen!

The commercialization of it.

Family getting together

In no particular order
The Expanse
Eureka
Fringe
Firefly
4400
Orphan Black
Misfits (first 3 seasons only)
Killjoys
Dark Matter
Orphan Black
Flash Forward
Battlestar Galactica
Jimmy Neutron

Just finished Turns of Fate, the first book in the Isle of Wyrd series by Anne Bishop.

Can't remember the last time I got so immersed in a book I had to force myself to stop reading and pace myself.

I loved her 'The Others' series and this reminded me a little of that series.

#Booksksy

Oh, why am I so invested in these strangers' happiness? Good for them!

And I especially love this because there has been a lot of men out here speaking tomfoolery about her and him and now she is effortlessly demonstrating not only is she a baddie, she is a multi-dimensional one.

Hmm... My top five (based on tunnel song, presentation, humor, rhythm, charisma, actual movement, and vibe)

5. Matlock Cast
4. Damon Wayans Sr. and Jr.
3. KeKe Palmer
2. SZA
1. (Tie) Shemar Moore and Aaron Pierre

I admit I do judge celebrities based on their Spirit Tunnel moves on the Jennifer Hudson show.

Lissen, I won a $100.00 trivia contest that came down to a question on Richard the III. I know my opponents based their final answer on something they learned from Shakespeare. I based mine on a book I read by Rebecca Brandewyne.

Oh, there was a thread about this film here on the sky about 4 months ago. It was streaming on Hulu (not sure if it still is). People still love it (that ending tho). The soundtrack is fire and Angela Bassett is a badass!

And then there's Eva. I do like the character and thought the early writing for her had nuance. But they are damseling her to an uncomfortable degree.

I feel like the show wants the audience to hand wave her part of what happened to Nicole and is destroying Kat's character to do it.

The Leslie stuff on #BeyondTheGates is so frustrating. Why create a powerful black family like the Duprees and have them crumble like a dry cookie in the face of Leslie's schemes? And then turn around and reward her?

I get the actress is fun to watch but there needs to be consequences.

House,
R&B,
Hip-Hop,
Funk,
Old skool Gospel

Floral Ziti

Okay Railroad Zaddy!