I found out earlier today that my site www.sheliagoss.com won a 2008 BlackWebAward in the Best Female Author Site category.

THANK YOU to all who voted for my site.

I came across Erykah Badu’s new single “Honey” on the Sohh.com site. Check it out: HONEY

O.P.B. stands for Other People Blogs. These are a few places I visited this past week. Check them out:

For the laughs, check out D.C.’s blog entry Lost Siblings Reunion Day.

It’s Debut Authors week over at Gwyneth Bolton’s Blog. Check  them all out @ http://gwynethbolton.blogspot.com/

Don over @ Minus the Bars has a serious topic going on - Pimping The Pew: Paying good money for The Word.

 After being serious and you want some entertainment news, visit Princess Dominique’s blog - I Love New York 2 Spoilers – I Warned You So Don’t Complain

For all you Patti Labelle fans - Miss Patti’s Christmas.

“Miss Patti’s Christmas will surely become a classic choice every Christmas season.” ~ Shelia M. Goss, entertainment writer and national best-selling author of Double Platinum, Paige’s Web and My Invisible Husband

Thanks Adrianne Byrd for this week’s eye-candy.

HOT HUNK THURSDAY PRESENTS: HENRY SIMMONS

   After a break-up, it’s time to be selfish. When I say this, I mean make sure you are taking care of you. Regardless of who is responsible for the break-up, going through the demise of a relationship can hurt. Allow yourself to feel, but don’t wallow in self-pity. Continue to live your life and in some cases you might need to pick up where you left off before you got into that relationship.

The question for today is “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?”

I wasn’t going to say anything about Dog “The Bounty Hunter” but after seeing him on Larry King last night I’m like this guy really thinks we’re supposed to feel sorry for him. You are responsible for what you say and do.  True feelings about things have a way of coming to the surface. I’m not saying I think he’s a racist, because I don’t know him personally; but I can say he makes racist statements because of words that have come out of his mouth. If he hadn’t said it, I nor millions of others wouldn’t be able to come to that conclusion.

On Larry King he pled with the audience to contact the show to help get him back on air. I’m like come on now, let’s get real. I hate he has a son that would sale him out for a few bucks, but he only has himself to blame. He shouldn’t have said it. He’s sorry alright. He’s sorry he got caught. He’s sorry his son taped it and sold it to the highest bidder.

“There’s a special connection that I thought I had between me and black America,” Chapman told Fox’s Hannity & Colmes. “And I used to say, ‘I’m black, too.’

To read more about Dog, The Bounty Hunter, click here.

Words to live by: Mama always said don’t say something to someone you don’t want repeated.

Are you in a new relationship? Has your current relationship lost some of its pizzazz? Here are a few simple ways to help make your relationship stronger.

Excerpt From the Article – Tips on Making Your Relationship Stronger by Shelia M. Goss

•        Listen to your mate. Sounds simple doesn’t it? When was the last time you really took the time to listen to what your mate has to say? Next time you talk, try not to interrupt—be a sounding board.
•        Give your mate your undivided attention. This means that sometimes you need to let that call go to voice mail; turn off the TV; pull yourself away from email and that computer—you get the point.
•        Schedule a date night. Whether it’s once a week or once a month, new and old couples need a night just to themselves. If you have kids, find a reliable babysitter. Do what you have to do so that you and your mate can keep the flames burning. Keep in tune to what attracted you to your mate in the first place.
•        Allow your mate some “me time.” Every now and then we all need to spend time away from our mates—whether it’s to read, a long hot bubble bath, a trip to the spa, hanging out with friends, or just quiet time alone. Believe it or not this can help your relationship.
•        Give a card, send an email/text message or make a phone call “just because.” Don’t wait for special holidays or birthdays to show that you care. Do something every week, if not every day to let your mate know that you’re thinking of them. And not out of any obligation, but because of your genuine affection towards them.
•        Share a part of yourself that you don’t share with anyone else. This helps create a special bond and should bring you closer.
•        Make a special CD with both of your favorite songs. Don’t forget to make duplicates so you both can have a copy to listen to when you’re apart (smile).

www.sheliagoss.com

What are some things you’ve tried that have added spice into your love life?

I never thought 20 years later, I would be singing lyrics to an old Janet Jackson song, “No, my first name ain’t baby,” but I am.

Why do men take it upon themselves to call women, “baby” during the course of a conversation?

Is it used as a term of endearment or does it go deeper than that?

Several years ago, a male friend, who we’ll call “John,” did something that surprised me. I observed him speak with several women over a span of a few hours. Each time they called, instead of saying their name, his initial greeting was “Hi Baby.”

After the umpteenth call, I decided to ask him, “Why do you call those women Baby instead of using their names?”

His response surprised me. “It gives me time to either pick up on their voice or have them tell me who they are,” he responded.

All I could say was, “Oh I see.”

John taught me that evening to pay close attention to when a man uses the word “baby.”

When I hear it now, I don’t take the man too seriously. I find myself crinkling up whenever I hear it.

Does the word “baby” irritate you like it irritates me? Some men use the term so much that it becomes a habit. I’ve heard so many men use it out of habit that they probably aren’t aware of how annoying it can be.

I tried to get over the annoyance when I met this new guy and he used it. Well that is, until I heard him use it when talking to a cashier, a mutual stranger, at the store. Afterwards, hearing him call me “baby” didn’t hold that same warm fuzzy feeling it once did.

Men, please beware and don’t use the word to every Sue, Jill, and Jane you come across. And women the next time a man says it to you, why not let him know that, “No my first name ain’t baby, it’s…”

It could be worse; they could be calling us another B word.