My grandmother's sister, Auntie Peaches, was one of my favorite aunts. She was spirited and always had a great word of wisdom embedded in the simplest sayings. Plus, she always had candy, carried a pistol and cursed a lot. I absolutely loved her...

"No romance, without finance. 'Cause ain't nothing going on, but the rent!" If you're thirty-plus, you definitely remember the late Gwen Guthrie's 1986 anthem. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing that song on the radio. My memory of the song was from my mother's friend and co-worker, Cre. She was a "fly-girl" and it was clear you had to have a "j-o-b," if you wanted to be with her. Actually, that was a non-negotiable requirement for all of the women who were single while I was growing up. If you were dating a man, he at least better be able to help with some bills...

A few years ago, I was experiencing some prolonged depression. At the time, I didn't realize I was depressed, as depression was not a part of my vocabulary. While I was feeling down, I started searching for some answers — something to make me feel better. I hadn't been a student of the self-help school, but I found some very helpful concepts in the books I read...

I despise the grocery store, but one of the lessons I wish I had learned from my mother is how to grocery shop. In general, my mother is meticulous about everything. With grocery shopping, she takes it to the next level. Whether it's produce, meat or bread, she painstakingly selects the best quality for the best price. She has standards, and anything she buys must meet those standards...

Albert Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." We all have habits or patterns in our lives that we know do not yield the best fruit, but we keep doing it anyway. I believe it stems from fear of the unknown. In order to get different results, we must do things differently and create new opportunities for ourselves...

Prince is one of my favorite musicians and songwriters. Ever since I was in high school his music has electrified me and taught me many lessons, some wholesome and some not so much. One of my all-time favorite Prince songs, "When Doves Cry," includes one of my all-time favorite Prince lyrics, "don't make me chase you, even doves have pride!" The lyric from "When Doves Cry" is perfect because it truly sums up the moment when you've had enough of the chase and want a lover to respond to your advances...

One of my dearest sister-friends has had a string of failed relationships over the last ten years. After the last one, she came to me defeated vowing "never to date again." Well, that wasn't realistic. She went on to assure me that she was serious and that "[she] was content being alone because there were no 'good men' out there anymore." She longed for a man like her dad and a relationship like her parents'...

When I was growing up, I was certain that my mother had psychic powers. Every time I would do something I shouldn't have done, she'd know about it, and exactly what I'd done. Whether it was sneaking an extra piece of cake or staying up past my bedtime to watch TV, this lady would always swoop in with her super powers and catch me. Clearly, my mother is not psychic, but she does possess a super power — women's intuition.  When she became a mother, it evolved into mother's intuition. Over the years, I have seen my sister-friends apply their super power in the craziest situations. They've known when their guys were cheating, about to propose, and unfortunately, preparing to break it off. Women are psychic! Men, however, are not...