Throwback Thursday - Soulja Boy Dance

My husband Jerrod celebrated his 30th birthday right around the time that Soulja Boy Tell Em was becoming famous for his big hit Crank That. That song took off! Everybody was talking about it and I was lost. I wanted to Superman or Soulja Boy or whatever the mania was, but this was just barely past my prime. I had exited the young, hip, club scene (was shoved out really) and so it was getting harder and harder to keep my finger on the pulse of today's pop culture.

(Note: I still haven't solved this problem and now understand why my dad was notorious for picking up slang during my formative years and dropping it inappropriately in front of boys I liked. I hope to embarrass my own kids like that one day... and the video below might very well serve that purpose.)

So anyway, I wanted to throw Jerrod a huge surprise birthday party. I shocked him with plane tickets home to Kentucky that morning, invited 70 of his friends to the party, rented out the dance space from our wedding reception, and got it catered. I wanted it to be a really fun party and didn't want him to feel old, I wanted him to feel young and hip, so I thought it would be bossome to learn the Superman dance (it was a craze at the time, ok? don't judge me) and teach it to everybody at the party.

One problem: I didn't know the dance.

So I turned to the trusty YouTube channel and found loads of videos. Everybody and their momma had uploaded videos teaching the world this dance phenomenon, so I chose a few of my favorites and practiced in our 399 sq. ft. apartment in Queens until I considered myself a pro. I practiced and practiced. I was sweating it out, but I gotta tell you, I felt young and fresh and smokin' when I did that dance... by myself... in my apartment. I was at least as good as the guys on the instructional video dancing in the bed of a dry swimming pool.

However, the way you feel on the inside is not always how you appear on the exterior, so without further ado, here is the paparazzi footage from that evening. My favorite part is my husband and his buddy Chadwell freestyling halfway through. 100% boss.

So here's my jam this Thursday! Way back from 2008.

(click the video to see bigger version)

Word Up Wednesday - Flirtbook

So when I first used this word, it was when a friend of mine brazenly and unashamedly called another friend of mine "fetching" on Facebook. Bold and confident, he flirted with her openly for the world wide web to see. Nothing has ever romantically transpired between these two, but when she responded that she "loves a man in uniform," the flirtbooking could not be denied. I called them out, told our mutual friends about the ridiculous fun, and we still laugh about it.

These two Flirtbook - make flirtatious comments over Facebook. It's fun, and I can imagine that if I'd had Facebook when I was single, I'd definitely be flirtbooking hotties 24/7. When I first used the term, it was light-hearted and merry, just a fun way to say, "Hey, I see what y'all are doing and it's silly." But recently, I've been thinking about flirtbooking and what it could mean in a dimmer light.

Maybe because I just read a few articles about Facebook being linked to 1 in 5 divorces, but Flirtbooking can actually be dangerous. Whether you're married or not, have kids or not, initially interested in someone or not, it's way too easy online to "bump into" past loves and share intimate details about your personal life with the wrong people. All relationships have their ups and downs, and a simple Flirtbook when someone's love life is in a more stressful phase could start the ball rolling down a slippery slope.

It's one thing for you and your spouse to run into his/her ex, for example, at the supermarket or a ball game. There is the tense introduction, the gracious small talk, and then going your separate ways and enjoying the rest of your day. You judge his/her ex's attractiveness in comparison to your own (come on, don't deny it) and may glean information such as their marital status, their form of employment, or whether they prefer paper or plastic. It's a quick conversation, awkward even, and then everybody moves on; but in a brief, real world, accidental face-to-face encounter like that, you don't go through their photo albums, find out which of your old mutual friends you still share, or have access to their email address/phone number.

So, what I'm suggesting is this: protect your relationships. All my single ladies, Flirtbook away! And if he put a ring on it, then close the Flirtbooking chapter just like you did with cage dancing, hooker boots, and body shots.

And PS - I promise you that your ex will enjoy his/her birthday even if you don't post on their wall. If you wouldn't call them at home to wish it, then don't disrespect their spouse by doing it online for the world to see.

Okay, so all of this is obviously just my humble opinion. :)