Life in the Chocolate City

Back in December we started on The Road to Peace and Tranquility. I'm happy to report that we've come to the end of that road. But that's not a bad thing. That only signifies that we've arrived at our destination. Life begins anew in more relaxing, less stressful surroundings. I could go into details of issues and annoyances with neighbors at the previous residence, but it's not important anymore. We're home now. It's so quiet, I can hear the birds chirping. I'm talking first thing in the morning when I wake-up, middle of the day and evening when the sun begins to set. It's so beautiful.

From the time contract papers were signed to begin the construction, best believe I checked up on the building progress every step of the way. I'm talking about making sure I stopped by at least once every two weeks during the initial stages of construction in Jan-Feb, pretty much every week in March and up to 3 times a week from April - May. If you ever decide to build, it's essential to make sure that things are done right, trust me. I spent a lot of time going over the property and structure when the project managers and workers were not around. However you choose to go about it is your business. That's just how I handled it.

I have at least a thousand pics from beginning to end, so everything is well documented. Of course I wouldn't dare post all those online, but there's about 30 or so that I'll share. It was kinda fun to really capture the moments. Here's some of the pics of the process from beginning to the closing.

Dec 2008





Feb 2009





March 2009







Being that I've worked in the audio-visual field for quite some time, I did some of the structured wiring myself. I don't advise this unless you know what you're doing. I just couldn't see myself spending $10,000 for Cat5, RG6 & speaker cables, so I snuck in and did a few hours of work for less than $500 in supplies and my own labor. It wasn't easy, trust that. But I did it solo and saved some cash no doubt.

April 2009









Speaking of blessings from up above, I made sure to mark up the house with my favorite Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5,6. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. My grandfather taught me that verse when I was in my early teens when I was dealing with some issues in my life. I never forgot that text from that time period. Trust that I believe every single word of it today.



One day when the walls were open, I went in with a red Sharpie and wrote on the wood frames in the house. Of course all the walls are up now, but I know exactly where all my hidden spaces are. Gotta have some blessings for the rooms when the kids are born ya know.







Understand that I'm trying to make sure that my children don't have to go through what I did. I've moved 22 times in my life. Yeah, I said twenty two. It's been hard. I don't remember staying at one place for more than 6 years. It made life difficult in trying to adapt to new surroundings only to be uprooted constantly. A good number of those moves occurred during my adolescent years, but I've also jumped around a lot as an adult in just the past 10 yrs alone. Moving takes a lot out of you. But in relocating so much, I learned very valuable lessons moving forward for the future.

I vowed to set a foundation in a place where my children can grow and not have worries about where they're going to be one minute to the next. A place where they can have a sense of community, have friends to play with and be set in one school during those elementary years. My happiness lies in knowing that I've struggled, but all that has produced something that I've dreamed of to create a family environment. It didn't come without hard work and won't be maintained without hard work. But I've never been one to take the easy way out of anything. Put that with other blessings that God has provided, along with a beautiful wife and that's enough for me to be happy.

June 2009



























In all seriousness, this has been a journey for me and for my family. I only know a few of y'all personally, but in some ways we're a different kinda family... a dysfunctional one at that (just kidding). I hope y'all don't mind me sharing. Trust that it's not to be arrogant or boastful. I'm not rich by far, just blessed... which means more than money. I'm still the lil' kid that dreamed of one day having his own. It's not a 30,000 sq ft mansion or a joint that'll be on MTV Cribs. But after years of struggling and working, I feel a sense of pride to have my own home. God has really blessed us.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

I told y'all a few weeks back that I was taking my nieces to the White House for the Easter Egg Roll. Well... here's the recap.

I got up early, early and headed over to my sister's where the girls were ready to go. This pic of them sitting on the couch was taken at 6:10am. So yeah, they had to have been up with me at 5am.



Made the 45 minute drive to downtown DC. Found a parking garage and were on the White House grounds by 7:15am. It was cold out that joint. As you can see, we're bundled up like it was still mid winter.









Made it through Secret Service past the gates around 8:20am and went straight to the Easter Egg Roll line.



If I recall, some point in the day my oldest niece said "I want to be Vice-President!!!". Her look in this photo definitely says that. She looks so proud.



Took a quick pic with all of us. The girls, my sister and me.



Don't ask me who was performing. I just know that the girls had an enjoyable time dancing and jumping around for the next 20 minutes.







They ran to this character. I have no clue who this is. He wasn't around when I was watching morning cartoons... LOL.









Back to the stage where Fergie was performing.





Off to the craft area where they got to work some magic with their hands.



A pic in front of the official sign on the White House grounds.



Another character that I don't know. But trust that they ran to her also. Looks like a sistah...





Rollin' out after a morning of fun. President Barack Obama and family came out shortly after we departed. We still had a great time even though we didn't get to see them.



No sooner had we got back to the car and they.... well you can see... they crashed!!!!








Had to wake them up so they could fill them stomachs. A good uncle doesn't just give them granola bars, a banana and a juice box and then take them back home. It was still breakfast time, so we got full.
















The souvenir egg from the White House that each of us got in our gift bags that day.




Hope you enjoyed the quick captions and pics.

Peace & Love...

G. Mo

Ole knucklehead Redskins fan got his jaw jacked yesterday and rightfully so. Now, I'm not an advocate of violence, but in this case the dude deserved to get his butt whooped.

Pedestrian Removes Cowboys Car Flag, Gets Clocked by Motorist - washingtonpost.com

Man Removes Car Flag, Gets Clocked by Motorist

By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 15, 2009; B04

A man who grabbed a Dallas Cowboys flag from a car in downtown Washington was punched in the face yesterday, startling passersby in an area that is home to lawyers, lobbyists and expensive shops and restaurants.

It occurred about 6 p.m. in the 1700 block of L Street NW, at a site just west of Connecticut Avenue, where few expect fisticuffs. Commuters were hurrying toward the Farragut North Metro station, and the car was stopped in traffic, police and witnesses said.

"It's crazy," said D.C. police Lt. Eric Hayes of the 2nd District. "It doesn't make sense."

But, he said, someone snatched the flag from a car, apparently threw it down, and crossed the street. "By the time he got across, someone exited the car" and struck him in the face, Hayes said.

It might have been motivated by team loyalty, he said. Or the motorist might have been particular about who touched his car.

One witness said she saw a "big tall man walk up to this guy and hit him across the head." Then, she said, the tall man "got back in his car and drove off."

She said that the motorist "just hit the man and walked off" and that he picked up an object from the ground, which might have been the flag.

The man who was hit fell and struck his head on the sidewalk, she said. Ringed by the concerned and the curious, the man lay facedown on the pavement.

"He was out cold for a good five minutes or so," the witness said.

Police said a man was taken from the scene for treatment of a bruised forehead.

Wait a minute, Chris Tucker has something he'd like to say...



That's what I'm talkin' bout. Dude got slumped!!! This story made my day...

Peace & Love...

G. Mo