The Arrival of A Prince

He's Heeeeeeerrrrrrrrrreeeeeee!!!


After nine months of preparation a new royal has arrived....

INTRODUCING SHAYNE KRISTIAN SMITH...the newest member of the Just Write Now clan!

Born on last Monday, September 28th and having arrived home for the very first time yesterday (Friday, October 2nd), Shayne is happy to make your acquaintance.

His first name means "Gift from GOD" and is the result of blending his Mom and Dad's first names (Sharon and DeWayne); as you can see, he clearly is GOD'S GIFT!

Shayne weighed in at 7 pounds 13 ounces and measured 21 1/4 inches long. His entrance was scheduled well in advance and took place as planned after 3 false starts a week or two earlier.

The Little Prince's birth was attended by his mother, Queen Just Write Now (who would have been there even if it wasn't necessitated by nature!) and his father, King Sergeant Daddy. Following the long awaited birth, The Little Prince was greeted by many excited members of the Just Write Now clan!

Suffice it to say that the Just Right Now clan is rejoicing in the arrival of its newest Prince and wanted to share the blessed news with the rest of you as soon as we could. So that you blog members of the Just Right Now clan can join the rest of us in our rejoicing, I am attaching the following video so you can BE THERE as our newest Prince spends his first minutes at home.

Thanks for being family and sticking with the Just Write Now Clan!!!

83 Days Between Now and the Start of Mommyhood: Part Two

So I'm sure most of you who frequent that Original Oldgirl Ladylee's blog have figured out by now that Ms. Just Write Now is going to be a Mommy all over again in just a few short months! For those of you who were not aware, I'm here to say that Yes! It is true and I could not be happier about it.


I am beginning a whole new life and the most amazing thing about it all was that I saw none of it heading my way before it landed literally in my lap.

As I started to say back in March (when I left many of you hanging so unceremoniously...I apologize but there were good reasons for that) it all started with the picture in the last post. While trying to delete a profile the PO had used to communicate with me on a social networking site, I was sent the previously mentioned photo. I don't know what it was, but something about the photo spoke to me and though I had never before responded to an online request to communicate with someone I didn't either already know or minimally been exposed to through someone I knew, I decided to respond. In a very short period of time, I found myself completely enchanted by this soldier who at the time was stationed in Iraq.

In a very short time, we were communicating regularly and extensively first via the social website, then via email, and finally through Yahoo chat. Our chats lasted for hours on end (one of the reasons I was MIA around here so much....sorry ;), and our ability to communicate was so easy and natural that I knew before ever meeting in person that this individual would be a pivotal relationship in my life. From the very start, there was an ease in our ability to chat and a natural honesty in every exchange we shared. As I became more comfortable (because as many of you know, I tend to be somewhat paranoid about my personal safety when it comes to the internet), we finally moved to phone calls.

By nature a person who puts a lot of emphasis on her auditory sense, as I awaited that first phone call from Iraq, I prayed that his voice would be pleasing to my ear. I was NOT disappointed by what I heard and sometime during that very first phone call I knew I was speaking with my personal destiny.

From there, things progressed and we became closer and closer with both of us realizing even before meeting that we were in love with each other....at least on an emotional/spiritual/mental level and all that remained was to meet in person once he returned from Iraq to determine if the connection we felt would translate into the physical realm.

Well, we did meet and in answer to that particular query, I'll say this..."Today, I am six months, two weeks pregnant with our son!" His third and my second, bringing us to a grand total of 4 sons between us!

So, at this point what I can tell you is that all is great and with all the changes my life is what I think of as a compilation of moving parts. Right now the plan is for me to move to the New Orleans (where he is currently stationed) late this summer / early this fall once the baby arrives (due date: September 28th). I am currently in the process of pursuing a new job with my current company that will allow me to transfer to the NOLA region. This process should be completed by September 1st according to the current timelines. I am also trying to get Ryan (my 19 year old son who will be heading into his Sophomore year of college next month) situated in his own apartment as he does not wish to move to NOLA with us. Simultaneously, I am in the process of sorting out my house and trying to determine what to keep and what to eliminate before the move.

Like I said, my life is ALL MOVING PARTS right now but you know what, I could not be happier or more excited about how very unpredictable it all is!

GABBY'S NEW COUSIN IS COMING SOON....SO STICK AROUND!

She Was Gone.....

until one day, out of the blue and just like that she was back! Hello all you loves of my life! I'm back and to all those who let me know I was missed "Thank you so much for letting me know I am loved!" To those who missed me in silence, I know you all love me too! To all of you, I apologize for staying away so terribly long this time but believe me when I tell you that my life has been absolutely unbelievable in the time I have been away. So much has happened that I don't know where to begin telling the story. Should I go back to last fall when it all began or should I start today when things are so wonderfully and amazingly beautiful I can't begin to make you all understand how happy I am?!!!!

You all have "heard" me say time and again how dramatically a life can change in a year....525600 minutes. Well believe me when I tell you that the life I'm living today, March 31st 2009 is a work of art that I could never have conceived could ever exist 525600 minutes ago! Where do I begin?

I guess the best thing to do is to begin at the beginning so I guess that's what I'll do.....

It all started with this picture.

I'm In A New York State Of Mind...

I know it has been quite a while since you all have heard from me and the only thing I can say is that I have been on the move for the last month. I went to San Francisco over Halloween on business, and upon returning from that trip, I immediately began preparing for my long awaited family cruise which was just around the corner as our departure date was November 21st. That trip was an absolute blast, and I will be blogging about it as well as sharing pictures and video when I have the time to do so during my Christmas break from work. After our family cruise, I was home for exactly one week during which I was sick the entire time only working 1.5 days over the course of the week. The next Sunday, I had to depart for New Jersey on business for the week and having made my travel arrangements months earlier, I had the bright idea to extend the trip through the weekend so that I could spend some time in New York.

The week in New Jersey was productive even though I was still not recovered from my illness of the previous week AND I developed an ear infection while there. By Friday of that week, all I wanted to do was to go home and sleep in my own bed but in my infinite wisdom, I had extended my trip and one of my Blog BFFs had agreed to provide me with shelter while I got to know her city over the weekend so I was pretty much locked in so to speak.

You all have heard me say what I am about to say next before....THANK GOD that HE and not I get to decide what I will or won't do. If I had been able to have my way, I would not have stayed the weekend in New York. I just wanted to go home and go to bed but I could not...GOD and NYC were not having that!

I had the best time ever and I am so grateful for the experience. I got to see NYC in ways I had never seen her before and she was graceful enough to allow me to become a part of her. I made amazing new friends (I love you Dari and Robert), did the tourist thang....Rockefeller Plaza and Bryant Park YOU ROCK, met friends for drinks at the tres chic Greek restaurant KELLARI and dined in diners where breakfast was served 24 hours a day...oh so New York, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, got my spoken word on at the very historic and perfectly representative of what a New York Jazz Club should be, St. Nick's Pub...located on Harlem's famed Sugarhill!!!!

BEFORE I FORGET....let me just say that never in the history of the world and visits was there EVER a better hostess than Ms. Cap City! In every conceivable way, she made me feel more welcomed than I do even at my own home! She made ME and MY WISHES, DESIRES, WHATEVER her priority for the entire weekend in addition to driving all the way to New Jersey and back just to facilitate my visit. I owe her more than I will ever be able to repay, and here and now I want to make one thing forever clear....Cap City will always have a place to lay her head in my home!!! Thank you again my sistah....I will never forget my New York or YOU!!!

So if you are so inclined, please flip through my Smilebox and join me in my NEW YORK STATE OF MIND!!!

Make a Smilebox photobook

LIVING HISTORY

In a world where one dream was an impossibility:

Another more world-altering dream came true....

CONGRATULATIONS

PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA,

MAY YOU BE BLESSED AS YOU HAVE BLESSED US.

Can You Verify That Your Vote Actually Counts?

My apologies for all the politics that you've found here lately, but like so many of us in this country right now, I am consumed with this election. It will come to an end soon....I promise ;-)

I was forwarded this YouTube video from a friend from whom I have learned much this past year. I thought it was definitely worth forwarding to you all. The fact of the matter is that we all have one thing in common if we decide to utilize our right to vote....that one thing is WE WANT OUR VOTE TO BE ACCEPTED, RECORDED, AND COUNTED! No matter who your preferred candidate is or which party you may affiliate yourself to, we all want our vote to count. In a world where there is a way to track EVERYTHING, even emails you believe you have erased (just ask the guys at ENRON), why is it that in so many states, votes are not verifiable once they have been cast because there is NO PAPER TRAIL? What is that about?

The attached video shows that it would and COULD be extremely easy to count "computerized votes" that are still track-able and VERIFIABLE by a paper trail in the event a need arises for a recount. As it is too late for this election cycle, in my opinion, between now and the next nationwide elections, All Americans should make this a united cause by writing to their election board presidents and Congressional Representatives and Senators to make their preferences known.

WARNING: Cynthia McKinney is featured in the video and for some of you she may be a polarizing figure. THIS VIDEO IS NOT ABOUT CYNTHIA MCKINNEY NOR HER CAMPAIGN SO PLEASE WATCH IT AND YOU WILL SEE THE POINT IS NOT HER BUT THE SANCTITY OF YOUR VOTE!



It's your vote....if you can confirm that you chose to pay your utility bill with a receipt, shouldn't who you chose to be your president be confirmable as well? There are so many things we get behind that don't matter in the larger scheme of things, but this....this really does have the potential to change the world....at least the world as we now know it.

Sharon

Will YOU Be The One??

Sometimes, when it is really late at night and I am snuggled all warm in my bed and cocooned in the deepest sleep one could ever possibly hope to have, I suddenly bolt upright and find myself dripping in sweat as I try to shake off the following dream where the undefined one is ME:



Play Video by pushing right arrow.

PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BE YOUR REALITY...

VOTE....before it's too late!