Tribeca Taco Truck Surprise!

Sometimes the best treat is the one you least expect. In my travels today, I was on Prince Street and I landed on this food truck. It's called, "TRIBECA TACO TRUCK." Usually, I'm very picky about where I eat my food and for all my friends who know me, it's very rare that I eat from a place that I haven't researched first. Lol!

I always watch to see if a place is getting business and whether folks seem to be happy. In this case, both statements were true. So, I decided to line up and give it a try. I started checking out the menu to see what I might like and right away my eyes brightened up when I saw that they had grilled seasoned chicken!

I ordered a soft chicken corn tortilla. All tortilla's come with cilantro & onion and your choice of 2 sauces. I chose the spicy mango and picante bojo. I was very eager to taste my food that I stepped to the side of the truck and started chowing down! I took one bite and OH MY! Just to make sure, I took a second bite to make sure that I wasn't dreaming. Indeed, this chicken tortilla taco hit the spot! Here's the best part of it all, it was ONLY $3.  The spicy mango added an extra kick to the chicken, it was like a "sweet and sour" surprise. The chicken was well seasoned and that cilantro added a special kick.

Only in New York can you find such tasteful food for a fraction of the price.
You can find this food truck on Prince Street between Spring Street & Broadway.

Tomorrow they have "DOLLAR TACOS!"  You can't beat that, I suggest for all those New Yorker's on a budget and are in the area, should hit up this truck. It's worth your money and you won't be disappointed. I give Tribeca Taco Truck, "TWO THUMBS UP and a SMILE!

What's Next???

Well, it's been awhile since I've blogged and I apologize to all my followers. I've been experiencing the life altering question of, "WHAT'S NEXT??"

I believe most of us have experienced life altering moments at some point in our lives. The one constant thing I can count on, is that I have to keep my faith in the midst of this transition. I realize that there's something bigger happening here and I must embrace this journey one step at a time.

I hate not knowing what's next, during this time of being laid off, I've been hitting the pavement like nobody's business. I've been blessed to have interviews to go to, where some of my friends can't even get any interviews.

The thing is, you always have to be at your best at every interview and have you ever thought you were vibing with the person who was interviewing you, just to find out later that they didn't even like you? LOL! Oh, let me rephrase this, I was told that I knew too much information about the company, too polished and too prepared.  Hmm....

I didn't know preparing for an interview was a bad thing. LOL! With this economy being the employers market, I'm really trying different avenues and networking all my contacts. The thing is though, at the end of it all, I have to trust that the right job is out there.

As for those of us who are hitting the pavement with our resumes, polished look and those of us who are I guess, "too prepared", we have to continue to believe that someone will finally believe that "we are the RIGHT FIT!"

What's Next???

Great things are about to come our way, but until we get there, let's take it one day at a time. Let's continue to be thankful that we are healthy, we are alive, all our five senses are working, we can still be kind to someone else.

In Transition!

The last couple weeks, I've been experiencing some growing pains and struggles. We all have our good and bad days, but sometimes it seems that when you're in middle of life's transition, things can be quite overwhelming. I found myself torn with many questions, many I couldn't even answer.

What is going on? How come this job isn't coming fast enough? How many interviews will I have to endure? Why is this happening to me? Will I be happy again? I'm I making the right decisions? I'm I being prayerful about what I want? I'm I on the right course with my life? When does the transition end?

As you can see, once my mind starts working, it's hard to shut off that little inside voice that speaks to all of us. I understand it's a process and sometimes, there's no specific answer to all these questions. What's really important is being patient. I know that's easier said than done. LOL! I discovered that one of my vices, is being impatient. I always want things to happen in my own time, but God doesn't work like that. I believe that we have to let nature take it's course sometimes. Obviously, I'm not saying that we do nothing, what I suggest is that we stay prayerful and we proceed with caution. Faith requires action and we all know everything we ever wanted didn't fall out of the sky. It took some course of ACTION!

Since we're officially in Spring now, I realized so is my life. We need to change in order to grow, it challenges us to try new things or aspire to greater heights in our lives. If you live in New York, this Spring weather is more like a mixture of Winter and Spring. It seems as if Winter won't let go, because we're still wearing our wool coats and scarfs. Yet at the same time, we're hopeful, so we've started wearing brighter colors, maybe wearing those open toe shoes. It is because we believe that SPRING IS HERE! We believe that this is a new season.

I say this to everyone whose reading this blog, I don't know what your transition is, whether it's personal or career related, embrace the change. Yes, there will be tough days where you might feel like things are not moving fast enough, remember that this is your new season. You will get there! Just remember to embrace the process, YES this transition shall come to pass!

You will get there, you will get that job you've always wanted, you will get that new house, puppy, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, raise, much needed vacation, whatever it might be, IT WILL HAPPEN!

Where You At?

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Wendy Williams Show and the weather was just crazy! It was raining, snowing, hailing, all the above. Nothing was going to stand in my way of going to see Wendy and Jennifer Hudson, who was a guest on the show.

Despite the weather, a lot of people made it for the taping of the show. I was excited that I made it right before 8 AM, because the line was pretty long. Once we were inside the studio, I must admit that Wendy has the best fans! Everyone was pumped up and with DJ Boof spinning the cuts, audience members were soon invited to the stage to get their dance on!

After several minutes of breaking into a sweat and enjoying ourselves, a few were chosen to participate in the dance off contest. At this point, the rest of us had returned to our seats to watch the chosen few. Shout out to my girl who surprised us all with the splits. None of us saw that coming! My girl from Philly had on 4 inch heels and while everyone was getting their 5 seconds of fame, she stole the show!

Now that the crowd was hyped, it was time for Wendy to start her show. "HOW YOU DANCING?" Remember it's usually, "HOW YOU DOING?" Well, since Wendy is now on Dancing with the Stars, she decided to change it to "HOW YOU DANCING?" Let's vote for her y'all!

I love Wendy! She had to put this lady in her place who kept yelling during the show, I'm saying this is the "WENDY SHOW", not the "CRAZY AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOW". I'm not sure if the audience member just wanted to get noticed, but that's not the way to go about it.

Wendy gave us the latest juice on Chris Brown and about the American Idol Judges. I hope and pray that Chris Brown will find a better way of addressing questions regarding his ex. I know his a talented young man, but Wendy is right, he has to know how to handle these types of questions.

The best part of the show is when Wendy finally got to interview Jennifer Hudson. All I can say is Jennifer looked amazing in that hot pink dress, it was a great color on her. She was working them 5 inch heels, you go Jennifer! We all went wild when Jennifer came out, her story is very inspiring to many young women. I wanted to go to the gym right after the show and start working out. LOL!

The show ended with Jennifer performing her new song, "Where You At", from the new album called, "I Remember Me."

It's out in stores now. You can check out Jennifer's performance at http://www.wendyshow.com/2011/03/23/j-hud-performs-where-you-at/

Thanks Wendy for my Rich Rocks Bohemian Style earrings and my Aqua-fresh toothpaste. There's nothing like fresh breathe and a brand new pair of earrings!!!!  HOW YOU DANCING?

Miss Jackson - #1's Tour

A close friend of mine called me up last month and asked me if I wanted to attend the Janet Jackson Concert. At first, I was like it would be nice, but I can't have fun when I'm job searching right now. Maybe I would see her another time.

WAIT!!! Stop the PRESSES!!! This is a once in a lifetime that I get to witness someone I admired from my teenage years. And I say no, next time?  My girlfriend soon made me realize that we have to live life in the moment, I wasn't guaranteed a next time.

Since I was a little girl, I use to watch Janet Jackson on the show "Good Times." How could we forget her role as little "Penny?" Then, one day in my teenage years, I saw the video for "Pleasure Principle". Now, I thought to myself, I could be like Janet in that video and bust out that routine, jump on the chair and off it. Well, I didn't wanna break my mother's chair or my legs, I stuck to learning the dance moves.

Finally, this past Saturday, I went with my friend to witness this once in a lifetime opportunity. As we approach the line at Radio City Hall, I hear a fan singing, "What have you done for me lately?" I start laughing and singing along, "Ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah! Used to go to dinner almost every night, danced until I thought I'd thought I'd lose my breath."

Here I was finally inside Radio City Hall and very excited to see Miss Jackson. I felt like a little kid at the candy store. I use to spend hours making up dance routines to her songs. I attempted on many occasions to replicate her dance moves, but of course, they can only be one JANET.

Once we were seated inside, after the opening act, the audience was getting hyped. Finally, the curtains opened and  we saw the video to "The Best Things in Life Are Free." Oh yes, this was taking it way back, remember this song was on the soundtrack for "Mo Money" with Damon Wayans and Stacey Dash?

Then the "Rhythm Nation" video came on and man oh man, I still can't figure out the finger combination when it comes to 5, 4, 3, 2, ONE! "We are a part of the rhythm Nation." At this point and time everyone was out of their seat singing and dancing.

Finally, Janet's band all dressed in white started to take their places on stage. We all started screaming and then the moment we had all been waiting for, Miss Janet graced us with her presence and the crowd went wild! "JANET, JANET, JANET", the crowd chanted.

I couldn't believe it, I was screaming and dancing. The only issue was I had forgot my camera, so I had to take pictures with my phone camera. I really wanted to kick myself, but too late for that. It was time to sing and dance with Janet. She still got the moves, I was really impressed with the show.

She's a legend of our time! I can honestly say that her show attracted everyone young and old. It is very rare that an artist can do that. By the end of the concert, I could hardly talk and I didn't want the show to end.

Every show has a beginning and an ending, the band, the dancers and Miss Jackson entertained us for two hours.

I'm glad I got the chance to see her perform. She's now written a book called, "True You." Check it out at your local book store.

Central Park - Loved the Live Band!

Those of us here in New York appreciated Friday's 70 degree weather. Where do I even begin?

So, I woke up early anticipating the nice weather that was predicated. I wanted to maximize every minute of it. I started out my journey in Central Park. As a New Yorker, sometimes we forget to take advantage of what makes this city great, which includes the most famous Central Park. I took the M7 to 59th & Columbus Circle and once I existed, I was greeted with a sunny blue sky and the famous statues.

All of sudden, I heard this music, it was very inviting. I heard the sweet sounds of  saxophones and drums, so I started walking towards the area where I witnessed a great live performance. A small crowd of tourists, kids and regular New Yorkers were slowly forming around this lively band. Man, I love New York on days like this, it doesn't get any better!            

I decided to find a sit on a near by bench so I can truly enjoy this experience. On days like this, I gotta say I love New York! Here I am enjoying a live performance by this ensemble group put together by Sam Trapchak. Their sound is quite unique, it's a mixture of funk, a bit of rock and blues with a jazzy flavor. I found myself smiling and thankful to be an audience member.

In the picture below, this lady helps her little one walk over to give a donation to the group. It was adorable to see little one's and grown ups running up and showing their appreciation for the music. I was told by one of the group members, that they had performed here a year ago around this time and it was nice for them to have the opportunity to reunite here again.

I decided to purchase one of their albums, entitled, "Lollipopocalypse", so I could continue listening to them once I got home. Let me just say, I have played the CD like 6 times already. Love it! It's very soulful, relaxing and it left me with a smile on my face. My favorites so far are "Losing You", "Long Live/Less Say" and "Tongue and Groove."

If you want to find more about this group or if you want to purchase their music, please visit www.rawtoastrecords.com

Lucky Stars

With the recent layoffs, many of us are trying to figure out what our next steps will be.
For some its doing the same job, while for others, there's a new desire to try something new. This is very interesting, because yesterday I talked about this topic of  not being afraid of new ventures.

I was recently laid-off and for the first time in my life, I was both excited and nervous at the same time. When one door closes, we have to look at it as a blessing in disguise. So often we're still holding onto that old thing that we can't see new opportunities right in-front of us. Believe me, I know it's very scary to all of sudden start all over again with a brand new employer or career for that matter.

So, today being St. Patrick's Day, as I strolled in Union Square, I thought to myself, "Gee, I really could use some luck." It seems that in this economy those of us who are still unemployed are not having the best of luck. Everywhere I turn it seems clear that this is the employers market, but what about our destiny?

I don't believe when you're destined to do great things that we can't overcome these obstacles. I started thinking as I was walking, "What would my dream job be and how would I get it?" I've always had this gift of gab, I can talk, talk and talk. I draw quite an audience with all my stories and maybe the love of entertaining others.

Now, I've been brain storming hard and trying to figure out how could I get paid for my gift of gab? It's obviously something I enjoy doing and there's jobs out there including motivational speakers, facilitators and of course a talk show host. I'm going against the norm here and dreaming big, but hey, that's my nature.

I know there's some of you out there that are struggling to make ends meet, some of you are eager to get a job interview, other's are eager for change. We've been told, this is going to be a tough year and with the financial crisis, things will take awhile to settle down. I get this very loud and clear, but in the midst of all this chaos, I'm standing strong.

I urge you to stand strong on whatever you're pursuing. Granted there will be tough days where you don't see any break through, but it's coming. why not take a positive look at what this time is for, maybe it's time for you to get your life in-order, maybe it's time for you to attend to the important people in your life, maybe it's time for you to dream big and keep on believing.

I want to hear from you out there, what is your dream job and what are you doing about it?

The best is yet to come my friend! I will stand firm with you.