Thanksgiving

I'm very excited for this Thanksgiving. Family, food, & chillage; you can't get much better than that. I don't usually do this but I'm gonna go ahead and list some of the things I'm thankful for. 5th grade status.

1. God: The man that makes it happen. My best friend, my everything. I literally would not have survived this year (and, of course, all the rest) without his guidancem love, & strength. It's been a very trying year and I'm glad I have the Lord in my life.

2. Family & Friends that are all Family to me: When all else fails, they're there for me. Maybe not always the way I need and usually not the way I want but in the end, they're the ones I can rely on.

3. Life: I literally wake up every morning, pick up my Bible, & give thanks for another day here on this Earth. Nothing in this life is promised and the only constant thing is change & death. Lord willing, I'll be dodging the latter for a VERY long time ;)

4. Music: That state of music has downgraded dramatically within the last decade, in the popular sense. I recently lost my iPod to old age and have realized how much my most static source for music (radio) is failing. It's time for change and I feel it coming. I feel like the people are ready to stand up for the good and get rid of what's not working. More and more, people are demanding quality in quantity & I'm beyond thankful for that.

5. Food: As some of you may know, I'm a Chef. And I'm damn proud of the work that it took to get me there. The only good that came out of this year was my professional certification. So much hard work & passion. It's what I love to do and it makes me soooo happy that I can make others happy with my food. I get customers, hungry friends, family, etc. telling me daily how much it meant to them that the food I prepared was good/made them happy/the best they've ever had & I feel blessed everytime I'm remembered of the opportunity to do that for others.

6. Love: I'm really effing lucky to be so incredibly loved by family, friends, strangers, etc. Everyday, someone reminds me how much they love me. Sounds selfish but it keeps me going, keeps my compassion & care in check; keeps me ME. When it comes to love, I go hard; I'm all in for any and everyone that's open to it. I believe the world should revolve around music, faith, food, & love and I plan on being that change the world needs to see.

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving and I pray that the most comes of it. When you think you have nothing to be thankful for, remember that I appreciate every single one of you that reads this blog/my life. Maybe I can be the one to give you some insight on how much YOU make a difference in my/the world and hopefully you're thankful for that. Love & Prayer!

*Thanksgiving Day update*:

Bad Blackberry flick but my food was GOOOOOOD!

Album of the Week

Aaliyah - Aaliyah

Released: July 17, 2001

1. We Need A Resolution ft. Timbaland

2. Loose Rap ft. Static

3. Rock The Boat

4. More Than a Woman

5. Never No More

6. I Care 4 U

7. Extra Smooth

8. Read Between The Lines

9. U Got Nerve

10. I Refuse

11. It's Whatever

12. I Can Be

13. Those Were The Days

14. What If

Everyone knows that I'm a HUGE Aaliyah fan. I don't want to review this album cause I'm biased; everything she did amazed me and this was the bittersweet icing on the cake. I will say that if you don't think this was her best work to date (Musically speaking because Queen of the Damned is my shiiiizzzz) then you clearly have not debated with me in person, BRING IT!

So since I'm robbing you of a review, I'll leave you with a "quote" by Aaliyah, it's absolutely one of my favorites. Yeee! and Enjoy

"It's dark in my favorite dream. Someone is following me. I don't know why. I'm scared. Then suddenly I lift off. Far away. How do I feel? As if I'm swimming in the air. Free. Weightless. Nobody can reach me. Nobody can touch me. It's a wonderful feeling."

Word on the Street

Word on the Street is Sade (Yes, I said Sade!) is coming out with a new album. The released date is supposed to be early February (sources say Feb 8th but I don't wanna give wrong info to you lovies)

You have no idea how much I've been waiting on this. My mom is already planning on attending the concert, I told her about it like 2 minutes ago. Jahaha LOVES my mommy!

Anyways, be on the lookout for the new Sade "Soldier of Love" early next year. I'm sooo flippin excited for this one :)

Album of the Week

Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak

Released November 24th, 2008

1. Say you Will

2. Welcome to Heartbreak

3. Heartless

4. Amazing

5. Love Lockdown

6. Paranoid

7. Robocop

8. Street Lights

9. Bad News

10. See You in My Nightmares

11. Coldest Winter

12. Pinocchio Story (Freestlye Live from Singapore)

Don't have much time to review this for you, my work schedule is off the charts. 3 jobs & no sleep plus I'm up constantly working on www.BasedMagazine.com (holla at yo "web designer". Jaha!) makes for a very busy Janet.

Either way, if you've slept on this album, it's been out almost a year so, go have at it. One of the better "Hip-Hop" albums of '08. *KWest shrug*

Jessie Payo

It's weird when music & people find you and/or you find it but it's such a lovely thing. I was first introduced to this Jessie Payo lady when I "borrowed" a movie from my job (I work for a HUGE company who's image is widely publicised by a mouse). She did a song on the soundtrack and for such a lackluster movie, I was impressed.

Fast forward a few years later when I realized Miss Payo was on my iPod one day. Don't know how she got there and it's only one song but she's there. PS: I love finding things on my iPod that I had no idea was there to begin with. Moving on.

I've been meaning to attend her shows for quite a while now but never actually had the means to go til this past Monday. Let's just say; Ah-MAZING!!

This girl can sing her ass off live. She's absolutely gorgeous, and if she doesn't have the most talented "local" band behind her, I don't know how to respond to that. Anyone who knows me knows that i will drop my Freddy's within seconds for a woodwind. So add a sax and a trumpet to raw & sultry melodies and slick grooves and I'm all over it.

I spent the better part of the evening blowing smoke up her ass and being obsessed with Jessie Payo & her band but I will say this; if you haven't heard her sing, go to Myspace.com/JessiePayoMusic and check her out. Then buy her songs. Then go see her live. Such a talented artist. Not to mention that her other group Jupiter Rising makes me feel like they are the type of music I've been waiting for.

I've got a couple crappy crackberry flicks to add on (my digi cam is broke, so unprofessional of me). Enjoy and besos!!