Vegan Momma

Ferry Corsten - Junk

Parts of the video above might not be work safe

One of the many songs I was listened to , as I was sitting in the dry sauna yesterday, was Junk by Ferry Corsten. The version on my ipod is longer. It’s 6:45 but this version is alright. Junk is a song that I happen to like a lot and I like Ferry Corsten style.

I like the energy and some of the words like Tapped it on the low I smashed it, Now she got her wig on backwards make me laugh. My ipod nano is my favorite hang out partner in the gym and it accompanies me when I enter the sauna. The temperature rises to about 180. I make sure I stay hydrated. I usually stay in there for at least an hour.

I love all types of music and at times my website is heavily laced with videos that I’ll weave into my posts. If you find them there it’s usually because it’s something that has been playing in my head because well there is always some tune playing up there.

Recently I started playing the piano again after taking a long break. I rediscovered my passion for playing. It’s hard for me to tear myself away from my upright grand piano. It’s a beauty and over 100 years old. Rediscovering the piano and creating music is a great escape for me. It’s easy to get lost in the simple beauty of stroking those keys and rediscovering the various sounds that they can produce depending on how you touch them.

I started playing the piano when I was eight years old. Mrs. Townsley, my teacher, was an older woman. She had slightly curling dark brown hair flecked with streaks of silver. She always smelled like a flower garden. She was a loving woman always doing something for her students. She was about twenty pounds overweight and she wore glasses. They hung around her neck by a string of pearls. I never saw her wearing pants until my last year in high school.

She had a big cat that always had a vague hungry look on it’s face. The cat was black with dabs of orange which seemed to explode all over its body. It looked like some funky splatter painting. My initial reaction to it was amazement. You see I had never seen a cat so obese. I was shocked when I saw it walking.

The cat loved me and would hop on the piano bench as I would play. Occasionally putting it would rest it’s heavy paws on the keyboard. It would look up at me, almost smiling. Perhaps it wanted to do a duet? Mrs. Townsley would shoo the cat away making him go back from whence it came (french doors through that led into their living room) but he kept coming back. After a while she would start locking the french doors when I came over and that ended the kitty visits unless she forgot to close the doors. I missed my buddy.

Every week I would look up to find the cat peering at me through the french doors. It’s mouth open in a silent meow. I would always smile and turn my attention back to my music because I was there to learn not play with the cat. When my lessons were over and I would make my way to the car. My mother was waiting.

“Fat cat“, as I lovingly called him, would be my escort to the car. I called him fat cat long before the Rescue Rangers made an appearance on tv but yeah if my buddy was to go that way he definitely would have someone doing the work for him.

The cat would follow me to the car after my music lessons. I guess he didn’t want anything happen to me. Although I’m not sure what would have happened? Mrs. Townsley and her husband lived in a quiet neighborhood and her yard was practically hidden from view thanks to the trees in her yard.

I enjoyed the companionship and of course I took my time walking to the car because I had to play with him and talk with him. He seemed to understand what I was saying and would meow when it was his turn to speak.

He could get very lazy at times. I remember carrying him out of oour cars path because he didn’t want to move. I imagine he thought if he laid in front of the car. I would have to stay.

Back to Mrs. Townsley…

In the beginning Mrs. Townsley wouldn’t let me play anything but classical.  That lasted for about three years.  It changed simply because I asked her for other styles of music.  I love classical music but I grew sick of playing it all the time.

Mrs. Townsley listened and started adding other styles and I devoured it. To be honest I was already playing the other styles, in secret, at home but I wanted her approval. I respected her that much but I wanted to play other types of music at recitals.

I have great memories of the time spent at her home. She was a good teacher. Through her I played at recitals, concerts and numerous other events. The church & school I went to got wind of it and I started playing in church, graduations, and contata’s. I also played duets with my brother. I became a very good pianist.

During my sophomore year in college Mrs. Townsley died of skin cancer. It hit me pretty hard. I didn’t play for years. Whenever I play she’s always there in my mind encouraging & challenging me. She had seen me grow up. It was a huge blow realizing that she was mortal.

It didn’t stop me from listening to music. Nope, that increased. During my quest for everything music I happened upon Any Given Tuesday’s website well over a year ago. He’s also a Marylander.

I keep coming back because his music interests are diverse just like my own and he has turned me on to bands I’ve never heard of before. During the time I’ve been a fan of his website he has changed virtual homes and now is part of Sen Baltimore but his style still remains the same. Yep, I think he’s a bigger music junkie than I am.

When it came to music I enjoyed being in the spotlight simply because it inspired me to always bring my A game. I definitely wasn’t about to fold in front of those people. So why did I fold just because she wasn’t around anymore? Well, I cannot do that anymore so I’m back to playing. In my mind Mrs. Townsley has been chewing me out for years for turning away from something I was extremely passionate about. I’m back and I won’t do that again.

Lyrics
Ferry Corsten - Junk

Amazing felt like I was caged in
Wrote a rhyme and started blazing
Turn the page and you’ll feel my ragin’
Thunder when my foot hits the pavement

Maxed out, grabbed the mic and blacked out.
Punks spot the yang and backed out,
took the back route, rap up on them with
the gat out they looked at me and passed out

Hungry so it’s gonna get ugly
I’m feeling like nobody loves me
Funky and I’m a microphone junky
Tearing up from country to country

Major, I got the unique flavour
Bless you with my words like your saviour
Player, you better curb your behaviour
Or I’m gonna have to dig your *ss later

Funky and I’m a microphone junky
and I’m a microphone junky
and I’m a microphone junky
Funky and I’m a microphone junky
Glorious, got the fabric of warriors
Give all the chicks euphoria
Tapped it on the low I smashed it
Now she got her wig on backwards

So I asked her, who’s a complete master
I make her heartbeat faster
Weirdos mad jealous but scared though
This time I’m well prepared yo

Funky and I’m a microphone junky
and I’m a microphone junky
and I’m a microphone junky
Funky and I’m a microphone junky
Glorious, got the fabric of warriors
Give all the chicks euphoria
Tapped it on the low I smashed it
Now she got her wig on backwards

• Leave a comment... (15)

 

Black Bean Chili & Brown Rice

I’ve been working on a vegan cookbook for well over a year. In all honesty it’s been something I’ve been working towards, at least in my head, since I made the switch to vegetarianism in 1992.

I enjoy preparing simple, nutritious, and delicious vegan recipes so creating a recipe devote to whole food vegan recipes was something that has been on my mind for year. A few of my friends have published their own books and one of my acquaintances is has a publishing company.

Actually the vegan cookbook will be the first of a few books that I eventually self publish the others will be related to alternative healing, natural hair care, and eventually nutrition (once I receive my degree.) What I do like about self publishing is that I have complete control of what actually goes into my book.

How to Publish a Book is something I’ve always been interested in and I’ve always felt that it the route that I most likely would take. I like the freedom it gives me. I don’t have to change anything simply because one of the Book Publishers tells me they want me to do something differently. I have had a few friends that have encountered this one eventually moved onto another publisher that was happy with their vision and a few others decided to publish their own books.

Taking control of the publishing process has always been appealing to me. 48hrbooks.com allows me to do this. Publishing a book is easy. Alright so you need a manuscript to publish your book that part might not be so easy; however, after you have completed the manuscript it’s simple as uploading a manuscript selecting the quantity of books that I want and paying the cost.

Your books will be shipped to me within 48 hours. How convenient is that? The deals are reasonable and I’m thinking of adding actually regular books along with ebooks for my upcoming release on my Healing Yourself Naturally website.

One of the many features I do like is the ability to add ISBN and barcode for an additional fee. It’s something I’ll be doing when I do self publish my work. This allows my work to be listed on Booksinprint.com. 48hr books will be listed as the publisher. If your book does receive inquiries 48 hour books will contact you to see what you would like to do. They can even book orders for you from Amazon & Barnes & Noble.

If you’re like myself and want to take control of the entire process log onto 48hrbooks.com. Once they have received your approval your books will be professional bound and printed. Currently they have a deal running if you purchase 100 books you receive 25 more for free.

[tags]vegan, self publishing, vegan cookbook, 48hrbooks.com[/tags]

• Leave a comment... (10)

Well not too many new things going on in Vegan Momma world. I’m back after being away for the holidays so I’ll be catching up with my comments, blog visits, and giving out rewards I’ve received. I’m well behind in giving those out, but I truly appreciate each and everyone I’ve received. Thank you so much.

The Raw & The Cooked - Syndicated

Before I left for vacation last week my vegan cooking/raw vegan website The Raw & The Cooked was contacted about syndication. I’ve had a chance to review the website and will be following up with them later this week. I view it as an opportunity to connect with more people. If I accept some of my posts would be syndicated I would also have a bio page on the website.

Healing Yourself Naturally ~ Increase in RSS Readers

Healing Yourself Naturally has received an increase in readers about a week ago it was six I now have 31 readers subscribed via RSS Feed. I’m trying to gain exposure with my niche websites which means I’m posting under those URLS a lot more. I enjoy my niche websites and like the fact that the focus on a specific topic. Healing Yourself Naturally has also received an offer from an advertiser. I didn’t go through a service. They contacted me directly.

The Mac Diva

The Mac Diva has been contacted to do a product review. Yes, that’s one of the perks of having a tech website you might get free software. I haven’t made up my mind if I’ll accept, but again it’s nice to be recognized. I’m surprised that I was contacted because my audience there is small.

Hey Apple, anytime you need a review on your new line of MacBooks, PowerMac’s, Final Cut Studio, etc., drop me a line, alright?
I’m applying for an online position if I receive the position I’ll be writing articles for a Mac related website. I see this as an opportunity to spread my wings and maybe receive criticism from other Mac users. It will show me the areas where I need to improve.

Niche Websites

Occasionally I hear negative things about niche website. What else is new, right? People will always have something negative to say about something. C’est la vie. Automatically lumping every website that happens to be a niche into the same category is no different than labelling someone based on a group they are affilated with.

Niche websites can provide a great service if you are effective with it, and I know mine have based on the feedback I’ve received from a few of them. I’m enjoying that immensely.

My niche websites give me a chance to focus exclusively on one subject matter. When I’m looking for specific information I rarely go to a site that has information on everything under the sun I usually go to the websites that are niche websites. Why do some people put bloggers in a separate category and feel that they should not do that. I don’t see the difference. ;-)

Effectively Branding Myself

As I’ve mentioned before I’m not dependent on search engines for my traffic which is why when the big G decides to play dirty I my virtual world does not end. I’ve prepared myself ,accordingly. With Vegan Momma I’m contacted by an advertiser/online publisher on a weekly basis.

So why did I include Jimmy Lee by Aretha Franklin? Well I’ve loved this song since the first time I heard it in the 80’s. I searched for the video for a years and I finally found it early this spring. Anyway besides being one of my favorite artists she had the knack of making any song she sings “hers”. I try to do that with my blogs. Although my writing style varies depending on where I’m writing I still try to make sure that my personality shines through. I’m a positive person and try to convey that within my posts. I try make people feel welcome at my virtual home. I might not always agree with my readers, and occasionally I’ll question why they think a certain way, but I’ll always give you respect and it’s ok if we don’t think alike. Life would be boring if everyone thought the way I do. I truly appreciate my readers.

[tags]Healing Yourself Naturally, The Raw & The Cooked, vegan cuisine, The Mac Diva, niche websites[/tags]

• Leave a comment... (17)

Aiyana and her cousins

I included this picture because these were some of my daughter’s hang out partners while we were in South Carolina. They are sisters and live with their parents in Atlanta, Georgia. The majority of the relatives that were in South Carolina this Thanksgiving holiday were from out of town. Many of my aunts and uncles are from Florida. These are my mothers relatives. There are sixteen brothers and sisters total and fifteen of them are alive. One of the triplets died a few weeks after he was born.

Our holiday ended with a bang last evening. My uncle’s birthday was celebrated. He’s a great man and will gives himself unconditionally to his loved ones. It was a large turnout and lasted well into the evening. We left early since we would headed out this morning 2:00 a.m. Thirteen of my aunts and uncles were able to attend the event. Of course many of their children and grandchildren were in attendance also. It was a huge turnout.

Many that normally would not have been able to attend did so because this Thanksgiving was special. We were honoring a great man. I respect him because he lives by my motto which is Think of Others First. It’s a motto I try to live by every second of my days. Imagine if everyone thought of others first. The world would be a better place, wouldn’t it?

Shabba Ranks /Patra: Family AffairI’m including this video Family Affair with Shabba Ranks and Patra.The song is included at the end of the presentation the video (when the credits start rolling) that I’m currently working on for my family. I did a “quick & dirty” version while I was there it was about ten minutes of footage my relatives liked it and wanted me to do more so I taped last evenings event. One of my relatives wants me to edit a few of her videos and she will pay me. I thought that was very cool.The video I showed was completed in iMovie which is part of the iLife software package. It’s made by Apple.My skills improved soon after I purchased iLife and I found I needed more so iMovie and use Final Cut Express HD almost exclusively. I purchased mine directly from the Apple Store since I’m able to take advantage of their student discount. I’m back in college working on my Masters in Traditional Naturopathy. I’m still maintaining my A+ average by the way.

I used iMovie to showcase the video simply because a lot of my family members uses Mac’s. I wanted them to see how easy it is to create a movie using iMovie. A few of them bought the software application after seeing my video. My daughter Aiyana mainly uses iMovie now. She’s four years old. She’s amazing on the computer. If you want something easy and still want to wow your family/friends iMovie has enough cool features to do that.

The main computer I use is a 17″ MacBook Pro. Final Cut Express HD gives me a lot more freedom and with the exception of a few features I can do everything that Apple Final Cut Studio offers for a lot less. The music I use comes directly from iTunes. I have a lot of songs in iTunes about 2,000 total most of them I didn’t purchase from the Apple Store although I did spend around $90 via iTunes. I love music.

Thus far Final Cut Express HD is the best video editing software I’ve worked with and I’ve worked with a few. Anyway, As the end credits roll Family Affair is playing in the background. The intro will feature the song Tomorrow by the Winans. I chose that video because of the way our family gathering started out. Anyway this video should be finished by this weekend at that time I’ll be burning a lot of DVD’s and sending it off to my family.

I’m putting everything that I taped last week on this video. I use a High Definition camcorder. I’ll be breaking up the video by including chapters in doing so you will be able to access where you want to go directly from the main menu. This way you can easily skip past the parts that don’t interest you. A few of my relatives are quite long winded on the video. Can you imagine what that was like taping the entire thing? ;-) Yes there will even be credits at the end. In all the dvd will be about two hours.

I enjoyed being away and taking a much needed break from the computer I’m also happy to be back online and of course I’ve missed my blogging buddies/readers

Question: Did you take photos or video of your Thanksgiving.

[tags]family, bonding, thanksgiving holiday, family affair[/tags]

• Leave a comment... (9)

We arrived back in town about an hour ago. If you have noticed that I’ve been silent on my commenting this past week it’s for a good reason from Tuesday onward all my posts were advanced posting. Outside of checking up on my business I did not go online.

It’s great to take a break from it all. I did enjoy the time spent with my daughter, family, and just enjoying that natural beauty that Lake Marion has to offer. They suffered a huge drought and my daughter and I were actually able to walk on part of Lake Marion. That was underwater for several years.

We collected shells and tossed clams back into the water. We had a great time. I took numerous videos while on holiday and spent my down time editing several of them. I burned them onto dvd and handed them out to family with the promise that I would make more videos of the various family activities that were going on.

[tags]Lake Marion, family, holiday, vacation[/tags]

• Leave a comment... (12)