YES WE DID!!!!!!!

On Tuesday November 4, 2008 after a 21 month long campaign–the longest campaign in United States History, history was made when Illinois Senator Barack Obama was elected the 44th President and the first black president of the United States.

President-elect Obama was joined in Grand Park in Chicago by his running mate Joe Biden and family, and his own beautiful family which included his lovely wife, First Lady Michelle, and gorgeous daughters Malia and NaTasha (Sasha). Senator Obama gave a very inspiring acceptance speech at the rally where he stated the following “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. “

The Obama camp is said to move towards a transition strategy “quickly but not hastily” with a majority of his cabinet picked before his win was even announced. Moving into the presidency, President-elect Obama has many obstacles that he will face. From unnecessary wars to a rapidly failing economy our future President has his work cut out for him to say the least. However President-elect Obama as usual is hopeful, hopeful that the American people can unite and confident that along with the cooperation of American citizens and a bi-partisan approach to government America can move toward a new and more positive era.

CONGRATULATIONS MR. PRESIDENT and family, “yes we can” just turned into “yes we did”!

SPIRITUAL CAFE- "Daddy’s Girl"

Senator Barack Obama and his daughter Malia

The other morning I had a lovely experience. It had nothing to do with celebrity gossip, news, politics or any thought provoking world or community issue but with a beautiful relationship that I was reminded that I had.

Growing up I didn’t have a relationship with my biological father. My parents separated when I was little (maybe three or four) and for the longest time I thought that it did not affect me much. I used to think “all I really need is my mother; she’s all I have ever had anyway and besides how can you miss something that you never had?” Thus I went on through all of my childhood and many of my teenage years thinking that my mother was all I needed. My mother and God.

I came to know the Lord at a very early age, and started to develop what I thought was a relationship with him quickly. As a child I used to hear God being referred to as a “father” and adapted that term for him into my own vocabulary. However I am now realizing that at the time it was just a title; I did not actual see him as my father. I respected and reverenced him and saw God as omnipotent and omniscient but did not see him the same way that I saw my mother; as someone who was personally interested in me, someone who truly knew and loved me in an intimate way. I did not see him as a parent. I did not see him as a “father”. To be honest I don’t think I ever really understood the concept of what a father is and does.

When I was 9 my mother remarried to my stepfather. He was a good man and was good to me, and I do believe that he genuinely loved me. Although I loved and appreciated having him as a part of my life there was always this void, a section of my heart that was shut off to others that no one not even he could fill. Sadly when I was 19 my stepfather died and as I transitioned into adulthood I became increasingly more aware of deeply seeded issues that I have in regards to my father not being around. In fact I have struggled more as a grown woman with those issues than I ever did as a child.

As a child and even now as an adult I have always loved classic soul, R&B, and Motown. I used to think that I was born in the wrong era because I had such an appreciation for the music of the generation before me. I am a big fan of artists such as Marin Gaye, The Temptations, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, The Manhattans, and Smokey Robinson. In fact one of my favorite songs (one that I have been humming to myself a lot lately) is “Shining Star” by the Manhattans. I have always liked that song but I fell in love with it several years ago when it was played at my Pastor’s daughter’s wedding for their father/daughter dance. My Pastor is a man who I have considered a father figure for much of my life. He has four daughters (one of them my best friend) and he is the most outstanding example of a man, husband, and father that I have ever known. As the song was playing during his daughter’s wedding I thought “what a fitting song coming from a father to his daughter. I bet he really feels that way about her. She is as unique and beautiful to him as a bright and shining star. I wished my father felt that way about me”. After that every time I heard that song I thought of my Pastor and his daughter (and my relationship with my own father).

Lately I have been really struggling with my thoughts and I can feel myself slipping into a dark place away from the person that I used to be and becoming more obsessed with my absentee father, growing bitter and angry. Sometimes I don’t even recognize me. The other day I was feeling particularly drained, more than usual. I stayed up this night until about 4 am not really doing anything important but I was just not tired. In the midst of being awake I once again started to think about my father, and who I was rapidly becoming. Feelings of anger, betrayal, and hatred started to surface. This Incredible feeling of apathy and disconnect began to consume me. Suddenly my body started to experience a very abrupt exhaustion and I became extremely tired. I thought “you know what, its time for me to lie down. Tomorrow is another day and whatever personal demons I have to contend with will still exist then. I don’t and can’t figure this out right now.”

So I went to lie down and decided to set my alarm clock before doing so. Now I usually don’t set my alarm because most days I wake up on time without it, but I did this morning because I was going to bed so late and did not want to over sleep for work the next morning. When morning came I woke up without the assistance of the alarm as usual. I looked over at the clock wondering why it had not gone off, hoping that I had not slept through it. When I turned over I realized that I had woken up 15 minutes before it was set to go off. So I laid there for a few minutes thinking “should I turn off the alarm because I am already awake?” and I quickly decided that I was too lazy to do that and dozed back off to catch a light sleep. After what seemed like only a minute or two, I heard the static of the radio and through it the lyrics of a song starting to form. As I began to wake out of my slumber and heard the music more clearly I began to recognize the melody. It was “Shining Star” by the Manhattans! I could not believe it at first. I felt God communicating directly to me through the words of that song. It was so surreal I felt as if I was in another dimension for a second.

“Honey you are my shining star, don’t you go away” were the words I tuned into. “Honey I’ll never leave you lonely” were the ones that pierced my soul. God woke me up that morning by singing me a song. It was his personal, intimate way of letting me know that I was his daughter and that I have never been alone. Even though my earthly father may not have been there, he is and always was. My father told me that morning, “I love you. You are special and important to me. You have been a good daughter and I want you to draw nearer, because to me you are as unique and beautiful as a bright, shining star.”

I am not perfect. There are still a lot of things that I am working on about me. I don’t quite know it all and probably never will but I tell you what I do know; I do know that I do not have to do this alone. I have a father in heaven who loves and cares about me, and he’ll never leave me lonely.

Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever. Daniel 12:3 (New Living Translation)

Who Wore it Best?

[polldaddy poll=1063565]Its that time again, yup you guessed it… who wore it best! Below you will find celebrity fashionistas that dare to buy off the rack and be caught out rocking the same outfits as their famous cohorts. So you tell me who wore it best?!?

Left: Designer Kimora Lee Simmons in her own Baby Phat creation an electric blue strapless dress. On the right new and upcoming super model Chanel Iman (that’s her real name by the way) featured in the same ensemble. Is it just me but do they look like a living bi-racial version of Barbie and Skipper, (very cute version)? Pictures courtesy of http://www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com/

Left to right: Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon featured in the same black halo Jackie-O Dress as designer and one of hip hop’s first family’s daughter/socialite Angela Simmons (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE HER!). Pictures Courtesy of Concrete Loop/ Gettyimages/wireimage

Adrienne wore this dress first at the premiere of movie “Hancock”. Angela recently rocked the dress this week at the Spring 2009 Betsy Johnson runway fashion show.

On the Money-How to Protect Yourself in a Recession

If you are anything like me the current state of our country’s finances probably has you more than a little nervous. Our country is in an economic turmoil that has been a long time coming, and the reality is that it has little to do with individual spending habits as much as it does with banks, mortgage companies, and money lenders.

“Big money” attributes greatly to much of this country’s financial woes and debts. Capitalism, the system by which our economy is run relies heavily on the dynamics of poverty and wealth in order to operate successfully. Unfortunate only 1% of our population are in control of a majority of that wealth, and in a time where gas prices, health care, education, and home foreclosures are at an all time high its no wonder why the average man and woman are having a hard time keeping their heads above water. However as factual as all of this may be, I am not going to preach to you today about the short comings of our economic system (I have already done that in a previous article entitled Economics 101) but I am going to give you some basic tips on how to take care of you and yours while the government figures out how it is going to fix the dreaded “R” word.

1.) Protect your personal assets- If you own a home, if at all possible lock into a loan with a “fixed” rate as opposed to one with an “adjustable” rate. A fixed rate mortgage loan locks in the interest rate at the time you close. Once the loan is closed no matter what happens to interest rates or inflation your monthly principal and interest payments will stay the same. Contrarily the mortgage rate for an adjustable loan changes over time staying current with the market which can mean higher payments as time goes on.

2.) Protect your job…at all costs- With employers cutting ends off of budgets like weeds, it is imperative that you make yourself as indispensable as possible. Tighten your job skills, show up to work on time, go above and beyond your daily work routine. Show your employers that you are worth keeping around. Likewise, just in case things don’t work out in your favor, make sure your resume is dusted off and updated. Networking is also helpful.

3.) Finally, cut down credit card debt and save as much as possible- If worst case scenario happens (you lose your job) you want to make sure you have a few months’ salary set aside to support you. In a recession it can be hard to find a job right away, thus you want to make sure you have a leg to stand on until you can get situated again.

God bless, and happy and wise spending to you!

Supproting Jennifer Hudson

Many of you have probably already heard of the tragedy that occurred over the weekend concerning Oscar award winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson. On Friday October 24, 2008 Jennifer’s brother Jason Hudson and Mother Darnell Donerson were found dead in their Chicago home of Gunshot wounds. In addition Hudson’s 7-year old nephew Julian King was abducted from the home.

FBI officials are linking Hudson’s brother-in-law William Balfour as a “person of interest” in this case and disappearance of the child but have not pressed official charges against him. Balfour is the astrainged husband of Jennifer’s sister Julia Hudson (Julian’s mother) but he is not the biological father of the missing child. Shortly after 7 am this morning a black male child’s body believed to be that of Hudson’s missing nephew was found in the rear seat of an SUV . The SUV matched the description of one sought in the Amber Alert issued after Hudsn’s mother and bother were found dead. The body is still awaiting postive identification and an autopsy which is currently scheduled for Tuesday.

Many are rallying around Jennifer Hudson and her family during this very painful and tragic time. Supporters include Presidential Candidate Sen. Barack Obama, actor/comedian Cedric the Entertainer, and actress and friend Queen Latifah. Senator Obama stated in a recent interview “Michelle and I were absolutely heartbroken to learn about this unimaginable tragedy, and we want Jennifer and her family to know that she is in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time. We also pray for the swift and safe return of her young nephew.”

The Chocolate Girl Chronicles shares the sentiments of Senator Obama and his wife, and are earnestly praying the strength of Ms. Hudson and her family.

UPDATE

it turns out that the body of the boy found was that of Julian King 7-year old nephew of Jennifer Hudson. Reports say that he was shot multiple times. While charges are still yet to be pressed against William Balfour he still being held on unrelated charges and still “a person of interest” in this case. Funeral services are believed to be held later on this week at “The Hudson Funeral Home” in Chicago owned by Jennifer’s aunt Dorothy Hudson.

Danity Kane…Over?

So its true…Aubrey O’Day and D. Woods are no longer apart of Bad Boy Entertainments’ Bad Girl group Danity Kane. In last week’s episode of Making the Band Sean “Diddy” Combs ended the show with telling Aubrey she was no longer going to be in the group after she questioned his decisions for the last time.

Diddy called the meeting at the end of the Making the Band Tour, where he started the

conversation by praising his three MTB artists. During the meeting you could definitely tell something was up by the expression on all of the girls’ of DK faces. Once Diddy dismissed fellow artists Day 26 and Donnie Klang he asked the girls what they wanted the future of the group to be. Apparently the girls have not been getting along for quite sometime with Aundrea and Aubrey even sending emails to Diddy expressing their thoughts on leaving the group (big mistake ladies!).

Any way to make a long story short, as written previously that episode ended with Diddy firing Aubrey from the group and this week’s live episode picked up with Diddy also extending that same fate to D. Woods (which is too bad because that was my girl). The ladies minus D. Woods reunited for a very awkward and uncomfortable reunion on the live show Hosted by MTV’s Sway, where Diddy (via satellite from Miami) once again told Aubrey about her negative attitude.

Sway mentioned how he “somehow felt that there is going to be another season of Making the Band”. So was this latest fiasco all for show or was it the real deal? I guess we will see.

The Final Presidential Debate by NaTonia

Pictured Left to Right: Senator John McCain, Senator Barack Obama

Wednesday night marked the third and final presidential debate for the 2008 campaign held at Hofstra University, and I must say that I was a little disappointed at this debate. At times both Senator McCain and Senator Obama either danced around issues or paid too much attention to certain issues while others went under attended to. Issues such as the war in Iraq, abortion, campaign ad tactics, and of course the economy were discussed.

At the forefront of a significant portion of this debate was “Joe the Plumber” who is an actual person by the name of Joe Wurzelbacher. Mr. Wurzelbacher is an Ohio resident who recently challenged Senator Obama on his tax plan to “spread the wealth”. His name was mentioned twenty four times during the debate 13 of which occurred in the first ten minutes while the war in Iraq only warranted 14 mentions.

Also during the debate, moderator Bob Schieffer asked if the candidates would be willing to say to one anothers‘ faces what was being said in each candidate’s respective campaign ads about the other. Both candidates in a round about way did indeed support what was being said in their ads and accused their opponent of being negative. At one point Senator Obama even accused Senator McCain’s ads as being “100% negative”.

In conclusion the presidential debate were fiery and emotional to say the least but not quite informative enough for my taste. Senator McCain expressed a significant amount of emotion as usual while Senator Obama was his usual calm, cool and collected self. If I was someone who has not been following the campaign I don’t know that the last series of debates would have helped me to decide on which candidate to vote for if I was undecided or on the fence based on the candidate in depth examination of the roots of many of our nation’s problems (which is what I thought the primary purpose of the debates were).

To view the transcript of this week’s debate in its entirety please visit www.hofstra.edu/debate/

Are you someone who was on the fence or undecided about who to vote for in this year’s presidential campaign? If so how did the 2008 series of debates fair in your book? Did they help you make up your mind…please share.

Gabrielle Union and D Wade…Official????

Pictured Left to Right-Essence Atkins (actress), Sanaa Lathan (actress), Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union

So the question is…are Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade and actress Gabrielle Union an Official couple? Which is news to me b/c I did not even know they were seeing each other, (talk about being behind the eight ball). According to the Miami Herald Ms. Union flew all the way to France on last Thursday to watch the Miami Heat’s pre-season exhibition in which they lost…TERRIBLY. A fox sportscaster said that the reason the Heat lost was because Dwayne was having a “Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson moment”, meaning that Gabrielle’s presence at the game distracted Wade so much that he caused the team to lose, similar to Tony Romo getting distracted at a Cowboy’s game by girlfriend Jessica Simpson. The Miami Herald did confirm that Gabby was in fact present at the game seated behind the Heat bench with Wade’s family . If this is in fact a fact I am very happy for the gorgeous 35 year old Gabby and her 26 year old Beau…and happy for him too, Gabrielle Union is a great, gorgeous girl and one of my favorite Celebs!

D Wade and Gabby Union…Official??????

Left to right-Essence Atkins (actress), Sanaa Lathan (actress), Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union

So the question is…are Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade and actress Gabrielle Union an Official couple? Which is news to me b/c I did not even know they were seeing each other, (talk about being behind the eight ball). According to the Miami Herald Ms. Union flew all the way to France on last Thursday to watch the Miami Heat’s pre-season exhibition in which they lost…TERRIBLY.  A fox sportscaster said that the reason the Heat lost was because Dwayne was having a “Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson moment”, meaning that Gabrielle’s presence at the game distracted Wade so much that he caused the team to lose, similar to Tony Romo getting distracted at a Cowboy’s game by girlfriend Jessica Simpson. The Miami Herald did confirm that Gabby was in fact present at the game seated behind the Heat bench with Wade’s family . If this is in fact a fact I am am very happy for the gorgeous 35 year old Gabby and her 26 year old Beau…and happy for him too, Gabrielle Union is a great, gorgeous girl and one of my favorite Celebs!

The CGC Welcomes Alisha Hodge!

Hello all of my loyal Chocolate Girl followers, I have some very good news for you…CGC has a new contributing columnist by the name of Alisha Hodge. We are pleased to have Alisha who will be periodically writing on women’s issues and mental and spiritual health. Originally from the beautiful island of Bermuda, Alisha Hodge moved to Massachusetts to pursue her Undergraduate and Graduate degree, which has been a life altering experience. She is currently finishing her last year at Assumption College pursuing a Masters in Counseling Psychology. Her family history of phenomenal woman has groomed her for this opportunity. Their examples have attributed to her dreams and drive to “go as far as you can.” She is a true believer that life should not be simply endured but enjoyed. Alisha loves the performing arts, jet skiing, running, being with family and friends, learning and spending time with God. She is a seeker of wisdom, as humans discovers knowledge, but God gives wisdom, something she will continually run after to help better her community. Alisha is currently looking into additional Graduate and Ph.D. programs. Please enjoy the following article (which will hopefully be the first of many) written by Alisha.