It's 2012!!

Blogs and Such

Christmas is over and I'm glad. I enjoyed spending time with my extended family, but I'm pretty introverted and there's only so much togetherness I can take. Give me a book, a PC, the television, my husband, the kids up stairs out of the way and happy -- and space to write in peace -- and I'm GOOD.

So, I'm at work and the office is about 20% full. Perfect! This is the absolute perfect time to be at work. I don't mind the quiet because there's always a flurry of activity going on inside this brain of mine. I'll go on vacation next week when the kids are back in school and everyone's back on the road. Am I weird for that? If so, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaatever! :-)

I've been surfing the internet a lot lately, and I just wanted to share what I've been reading. Blogs, articles, sites, etc.

Food Gawker - I love this foodie website. So many pics and recipes.

Major Must Haves - This woman simply has it going ON. This is a fashion website where I just look at the pictures and get tips and advice on where to find outfits and how to dress. I'm not a shopper, so I need all of the help I can get!

Nami - Mental Illnesses - I'm working on the last couple of chapters of the self help book for women: Healthy on all levels. So, I've had to read up on mental health. I think it's pretty interesting.

Dreams of Life - This is a documentary about a 41 year old woman who dies and no one notices...for nearly 3 years. I've read so many comments such as: "oh this could be me!", but unless you're an old recluse, this SHOULDN'T be you. Live life. Have close relationships with people. Period.

99 Crazy Moments of 2011 - I like looking at the year in review.

50 Best Websites of 2011

Time Magazine - I just LOVE Time mag. The pictures, the lists, the articles. Great mag!

Life Magazine - See above.

Washington Post - "Being a Black Man" - I mean, since I'm not one, I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Top Documentary Films - Watch free documentaries online.

Crime Library - If you love stories of crime, this is the spot to be.

Foot Binding - UGH!!! - I'll never look at "Lotus Flower Bomb" the same again.

Is Beyonce Really Pregnant?

With a heavy heart, I have to say NO. I feel like a traitor to one of THE prettiest and most amazing performers in the world. But, Beyonce has me giving her the side eye with this pregnancy fiasco. When she “announced” her pregnancy at the VMAs in August I was sooo happy for her. Not as excited as Kanye West for sure, but still, when she rubbed that bump on stage I felt like, “Yeah! She did that!”

And then, I saw this picture and a little alarm went off. 

Her stomach just didn’t look like there was a baby inside of it. She just looked very full...of Popeyes. I know a pushed out stomach when I see one.

Her stomach didn’t have that roundness that it had in this picture, taken on the red carpet of the VMAs just a few days before the bikini picture:

My mother initially thought that Beyonce probably was pregnant, but wore padding to make her stomach appear bigger or maybe she even had some kind of protective device over her stomach. Ok….

Since then, I started observing her bump like a hawk. I saw all of the pictures of her out and about (never going to or coming from a doctor’s office, mind you) and sometimes her bump wasn't visible at all. I know that clothes can sometimes make a pregnant stomach appear smaller than it is and I tried to give Jay-Z’s wife the benefit of the doubt. Then BOOM. She had the “Sunday Night” interview in Australia and her stomach literally sunk, deflated, collapsed. Oh baby!

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Timeline of Beyonce’s Pregnancy

Recently, Beyonce presented a behind the scenes video of “Countdown” (see further down) and in it she said that it was September 23^rd and she was 6 months pregnant. This date is what my timeline is based on.

April 2011 = 1 month pregnant

Ok, no one shows at 1 month, but are they able to do all that Beyonce was able to do in her first trimester?

She hit up Disney Land…and rode the roller coaster.

She did a grueling photo shoot in Paris.

May 2011 = 2 months pregnant

She performed “Girls (Rule the World) for Oprah’s farewell show.

She went to the Met Ball with Jay-Z

She performed on “American Idol”.

June 2011 = 3 months pregnant

She performed in France on June 20^th.

Here she is on June 27^th on “Piers Morgan”. She hadn't told the public about her pregnancy yet, but she hinted.

She did a photoshoot for “W” magazine.

She gave a concert in Gastenbury!

She performed on the “X Factor”.

July 2011 = 4 months pregnant

She performed on "Good Morning America". She wore clothes to hide her bump, but why? There’s nothing to see here folks!

She performed at the Oxegen Festival in Ireland. Covering up again…for no reason.

Here she is performing at T in the Park in Scotland.

(Keep in mind Mama Tina did say Beyonce had morning sickness in her 1^st trimester and I’m not showing ALL that she did in her first trimester. Your girl was busy promoting "4".)

She performed on “Jimmy Fallon” (it was taped and showed a few months later).

She also performed on “The View”.

She did a spread for "Complex" magazine.

August = 5 months pregnant.

Remember those 4 nights at Roseland? August 14, 16, 18 and 19

Yes, I know she wore a dress with a flap on it and she didn't dance as much as she normally dances in concert, but that flap meant nothing, zero, nada and she DID dance her butt off on a few songs.

FINALLY, she showed us that she’s pregnant at the VMAs.

A few days before, however, she filmed the “Party” video.

Washboard.

September 23 = 6 months

Then, she did this behind the scenes video in some closed room with Julius probably dutifully holding the camera (because Jay-Z has been keeping his distance). She said it was filmed on September 23^rd at 6 months pregnant. “You can’t tell I’m pregnant from the front, but oh when I turn to the side!”

Well, here she is from the side in the "Countdown" video, shot in September. Where is that stomach, girlfriend? I know you aren't wearing a girdle and possibly giving your baby brain damage? Can a girdle even MUCH squash a baby to that degree?

Beyonce's "Countdown" video – The Original, not the Altered, version

Here she is at the House of Dereon Fashion Show.  That flash of skin looks an awful lot like whatever she wore under her clothing during the screening of the Roseland DVD with the Associated Press (more on that further down).

Now, here she is at the Torey Burch store opening in September. How does a 6 month pregnant woman wear this? And check her out in the mirror “from the side”. Huh? No hell.

October = 7 months

Now, here’s the big OOPS! Her stomach literally collapses on the set of “Sunday Night”. There’s no getting around this. 

You can find the link to the interview anywhere on the web. It's EVERYWHERE.

Never one to shy away from controversy, she stepped out in a tight blue dress the very next day. Bump in full effect. What is that band around the top of the stomach though?

A few days later, that round stomach is barely there.

November= 8 months

So now her stomach is huge.

She danced at a Jay-Z concert.

She displayed a very awkward looking bump with Nicki Minaj at a Victoria Secret show in early November. For some reason, her face is super swollen in this picture and she's looking like Jay-Z. Her face is never seen like this again. (Too many fat injections?)

Here’s another instance of her deflating baby bump, during the “Live at Roseland” screening. She's talking to the Associated Press and some “super fans”. There are a few things that don’t look quite right during this screening. #1, she’s wearing a black bra, right? Well, what is that beige looking contraption that slips up just as she gets comfortable? Not only does the beige thing show, but her bump deflates at the same time.

Notice that the video below stops at 2:41…right before the beige thing becomes visible and her bump deflates. The good folks at the Associated Press clipped this video short so that Beyonce could save face. Boy, wouldn’t you like to see the rest of that video…! But thankfully, we do have the photographs that show what happened after the 2:41 mark.

Also, why is she wearing that long, long dress and why is all of that gold junk covering the stomach? WHAT IS UNDER THAT DRESS, BEYONCE GISELLE KNOWLES-CARTER? LOL She just HAD to come out of the house to promote that DVD. 

Now, she’s shown in full bloom, poolside with Jay-Z and the fam. Why is she wearing so many clothes at the pool? And what is that thing that’s supposed to be a stomach? What is that darkness on the BUMP?

December = 9 months

It’s December now and the charade is almost up. I know she can’t wait until the surrogate delivers that baby so she can finally stop wearing that dreadful bump.

Here’s the "20/20" interview with Katie Couric. In this video I noticed #1, Beyonce races down the stairs to greet Katie, #2, she moves Katie’s hand to a safe spot on her stomach TWICE. It was so noticeable that Katie actually asks Beyonce is it OK for her to touch her stomach. She replies “of course”, but she STILL moves Katie’s hand to a safe spot. #3, Beyonce plops down in the swivel chair in her office AND leans forward when she talks about “the baby”. That girl better stop forgetting that she's wearing a stomach! I'm thinking she must never wear it at home.

And doggone it, her stomach isn’t nearly as full in this interview as it was in the blue pool ensemble. Her face  isn’t nearly as swollen as it was in the picture with Nicki Minaj, either.

Girl, come on. Let’s keep it real.