death of Sean Levert came out last night. My girlfriend Chevel from the Associate Press called to tell me that he died of "natural causes". Butttt, the singer's family ain't so convinced. He apparently suffered from panic attacks and needed to take Xanax; however, the jail folks wouldn't give him his medication. How natural is it when you die because you can't get ahold of your medication? His family is 'bout to get PAID!   more »

until you visit them at home! Our church buddies, Jason and Madria live in a north metro suburb, and they invited us over for a cook out on Memorial Day. Well, they have a beautiful home that was very warm and inviting--but we were shocked to learn that Jason was a bow-hunter! We went in the den and he's got deer head, stuffed turkeys and all kinds of wild game. Shawn (my beloved husband) told him, "I was a hunter too before I got married. Wild women was my game! In my den, instead of deer heads, I had asses--big ones, small ones, fat ones, skinny ones... but my wife made me take 'em down."   more »

reads like a crime blotter! The R. Kelly trial is playing out like an episode of Law & Order! I'm waiting for Jack McCoy to question a witness or Detectives Briscoe and Green to take the stand and talk about evidence. And speaking of TV, the guy from CSI was busted with drugs on him. How dumb can you be? Watching CSI stoped me from committing crimes--he's around all that evidence gathering all day--he should KNOW better!   more »

OK, so y'all know I do the CrossRoads television program on KSTC TV every Sunday on Channel 45 in St. Paul.  I love the show, it's dedicated to people of color and talk about issues important to "our" community. Ain't nobody in the Twin Cities more colored than I am--so that doubly qualifies me to do the show!

Sometimes, some of my favorite guests are on C.P.T. time and they show up late.  I always tell folks to be there 15 minutes early, but for some people that ain't enough time.

So this past week, I'm sitting there, waiting for my boy Franklin from Big Brother Big Sister to come on the show to talk about the Barber Shop Challenge that we're promoting.  We're sitting around--waiting--sitting around--waiting--but Franklin never shows up.  I know he's supposed to be bringing a barber with him, some guy they've affectionately nicknamed "Preacher". 

I decided to just walk outside the studio and go outside and look for them both. Now, I know what Franklin looks like, big brother who could be the second cousin to Rubin Studdard from American Idol fame.  But this "Preacher" guy I've never seen before.  So I'm walking around all pretty, make up tight, hair curled just right, eyebrows arched and wearing a brand new sundress that makes my stomach look flat, my butt look big and my breasts look one size bigger than a training bra--so I think I'm looking good!

But I'm pissed--so I jump up from the set like "Where are these folks? I need them to get up in here so I can finish the show and get home.  We have an appointment..." So I'm going off and fussing at the air cause ain't nobody in there but me and the camera guys who are all laughing at me...

I go over to the double doors, open them up and on the other side of the doors stands the most handsome man I've ever seen in my life. I mean he was so fine, he made me forget I was mad. Hell, not only did I forget I was mad, I forgot my own name...

I shook his hand and said "Oh hey, I'm glad you're here.  Come on in and let's talk..."  Y'all, I ain't let the man go. I held his hand and dragged him over to the interview set.  I put on his microphone and gazed lovingly into his eyes. At that moment, I was ready to leave my husband and son, and convert from Baptist to Catholic if I needed to. 

The camera guys in the studio had to snap their fingers and remind me that I was indeed married, happily--and needed to keep my husband so I can have somewhere to live (cause my a$$ ain't working no more--so that means I'm on a fixed income of ZERO) and someone to give me money for food and gas!  The director yelled in my IFB ear piece "Sheletta, let it go.  I don't know who this guy is, but he isn't worth it.  You're practically falling over yourself."

And y'all, that ain't like me. But this man was so fine, I got lost!  I took my wedding ring off and swallowed it.  I was so nervous I was stuttering and twitching.  He had me spent... I looked like I was having a seizure!

Now, I'm thinking this is the guy "Preacher" for the Big Brother Big Sister interview, right! WRONG!  I started asking him about what barbershop he worked at and how he got involved in the volunteer project.  Child, I was too shame when he said "Umh, Sheletta, I'm Michael Davis, the first black police chief in Brooklyn Park."  You talk about ashamed.  I hadn't been that embarrassed since I got beat up in third grade by a cripple girl with one leg!

I had to apologize and tell him I was so sorry--but we had been taping three shows, this was the last one and I was waiting on a guest and I assumed he was the guy we were waiting on that I hadn't met yet.  He was cool with it, but I saw him quietly place his hand on his pistol.  He did a good thing, cause it was gonna take a round of bullets to keep me off of him--he was THAT fine!  He was so scared, he thought at any moment, I was going to lunge on him and just steal me a kiss--take me some sugar--bite his ear lobe or something. Y'all, I'm telling you, I was THAT close--I completely lost it!  When I heard him click the trigger and take the safety off his department issued weapon, I backed off--stayed in my seat and behaved myself for the rest of the interview!  I figured if I didn't "act right" he'd either shoot my black a$$ or taser me.

He called S.W.A.T. for back up so he could be rescued peacefully, the hostage negotiator came and talked me down; which is a good thing!  Because I was thinking of taking him hostage--rolling him up in some duct tape and putting him in my trunk--bringing him home and just looking at him all day. The damn man was THAT handsome!

After the segment was over, I called Shawn and told him "Hey, I tell you what, if another bridge collapses in Minneapolis and you're on it--don't try to save yourself--go down in the rubble 'cause I've already found your replacement.  Die peacefully and allow me to be happy with my new husband and Andrew's new father."

Y'all know he's got his clothing line that's been struggling to "catch on" in the industry. Well now, he's teaming up with SEARS in hopes that that he can bring some "coolness" to the store. Let me tell you something, ain't nothing cool about going to Sears! And if that's the only store LL can get his clothing line in, he might want to reconsider reaching out to the kids and make some comfortable gauchos for old ladies (he can call it the "Momma said knock you out" collection)...   more »

from a George Clinton concert. P-Funk was playing tonight at 1st Avenue (the club that was featured in "Purple Rain") and they tore the house DOWN! I was amazed that these 60 year old dudes performed like they did when they were 20! Even the old dude wearing the diaper was "putting it down" on the guitar--although his diaper is more functional now (back in the day, it was just decoration, now it's wetness protection)...   more »

but I won't be rushing to the store to pick it up! I already got Usher in my house in the form of Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, Omarion and Mario. Usher better realize these young boys done stole his dance moves and his singing style and revamped all his dance moves (they turning back flips and er'rething)! He's gotta be darn near 30 years old now... and a 30 year old married dude with chil'len ain't as sexy as a chizzled 22 year old singing without a shirt!   more »

Y'all know er'rey Tuesday we take a look back at some of the blogs we most enjoyed on Sheletta.com. Last night, Shawn finished building a gate on the deck so that Andrew wouldn't walk off and into the street and get hit by a car. We told my momma who responded, "I ain't never child proof my home. When y'all got tired of being burned, you quit touching the oven!" That reminded us of an story we told y'all back in April of 2007 called "Why Should I Child Proof my Home?"...   more »

my husband has ever said to me is this week's Top 10! I read his little old funky blog Sunday where he's clowning me about my heels being a little bit "rougher" than normal. I knew he was gonna clown me this Sunday when I came to bed the other night and rubbed his leg with my foot; he asked "Honey are you wearing socks? And do they have razor blades strapped to the heel? I think you just took off some of my skin."   more »

and the ONE person who is happy today is finally here is R. Kelly! His trial is on break--and he needs one too cause things aren't looking good for him at this point. Last week, they lined up 9 year old girls who all say they saw his "frog" in person--and picked it out of a line up! Man, he's going down like four flat tires. Get him some rope for that soap in the slammer...   more »

"I'm gon' take my shoes off, and kick up my heels." That's the chorus line from a Parliament/Funkadelic song called "Agony of DeFeet". I've been a huge fan of the song since it debuted back in the early 80's. It's actually a song about dancing as the first verse hints. "I got some ground work to do, and I need a little support. Heel and toe on the dance flo, and just like the drumma, I need just a little mo' foot." I'm thinking that I need to remake the song. It will still be called "Agony of DeFeet", but it won't be about dancing. Nope, this version will hit a little closer to home. It will be about crusty ass feet, complete with razor sharp husk, callouses, bunions, and toe jam.   more »

be sure you ain't being "courted" by the parent. This week, Shawn decided we'd sign up with Big Brother Big Sister to mentor a young black boy (cause there are hundreds of them on the waiting list in St. Paul). I'm glad we're mentoring as a "family unit" because back in the day, before we had Andrew, I was a Big Sister to this little girl on the north side who was being raised by her father. I spent more time batting him away than I did playing dolls with her. I felt like I had signed up for Match.com instead of BBBS!   more »

even younger than we thought. Apparently he's hanging out with the ice cream man passing out snow cones and his business cards to girls as young as 9 years old. He needs his a$$ whooped. Pre-teen after pre-teen is taking the stand to say "Hey, that man bought me a blow pop, and I gave him a ...." (you know where I'm going with this one)...   more »

my wonderful husband's birthday. He's 42, but if you let him tell it, he feels more like 52.  According to his research, being married puts "dog years" on you, so he's aged an additional ten years since he said "I do" back in 2006!

Shawn is an awesome husband and an even better father.  As a boyfriend, he was just average--but as a husband--he blows other guys out of the water.  I don't know anybody else who'd put up with a woman like me, marry my crazy a$$ knowing my credit was bad and I owed back taxes and had three defaulted student loans, pay all these bills, give me an allowance and STILL let me act a fool from time to time!

So please help me wish my hubby a happy 42nd birthday!  I surprised him with the "Wise" LeBron James doll.  Back for my birthday he took me to New York to see Color Purple (my money ain't that long, we'll be going to Rosedale Mall to see Indiana Jones--and that's on a matinee) and we stopped in the NBA store. He saw the doll and wanted it--but didn't buy it cause he ain't wanna be lugging it around New York on the subway (grown ass man carrying a doll around in NYC ain't safe).

I ordered it and it arrived yesterday--he was so happy--he put it on his desk at work. I think it replaced our wedding picture!

If you ain't never read our ghetto love story--click here--I gotta warn you, it's one of those stories where you might want to take a "15 minute restroom break" before reading--cause it's funny as hell...

the new line up of television programming on cable TV for the summer season? Ain't one sister in a lead role except for the "Nell Carter" look alike in that new Tyler Perry comedy series "House of Pain". But white women on the other hand, are saving the world and solving cimes, one TNT weekly series at a time. If Grace ain't saving the world, Kera Sedgwick is closing it out. Can Angela Basset get a job, please?   more »

whose breath was so funky that they made you self conscious? I was in a small room yesterday with a girl who smelled like she had a little miniature man walking around on her tongue with $hit on his shoes. I'm talking her breath was so funky, she didn't need a mint, she needed surgery...   more »

But that ain't the travesty in this story. The shocking part of it all happened when I looked up the the legal divorce documents between him and his wife Alejandra online. OK, she gets back child support--nothing major--he gets the house--she gets the kids--that's standard. But then, I read the kids' names. Jermaine Jackson named his daughter Jermajesty! That's a damn shame!! She ain't never gonna get a job. I hope she can sing (better than her daddy)...   more »

Do y'all remember the late great comedian Robin Harris? The brother introduced us to BeBe's kids in one of his legendary comedy skits. The bad group of project kids went to Disney World and kicked Mickey Mouse's a$$. Well, they were in St. Paul yesterday at MLK Park while Andrew and I were on the slide. These kids were so scary, they made Andrew cry and bullied me for my lunch money...   more »

to throw in the damn towel. Not because Barack has more of the Super Delegate votes than she does and not because Barack is leading in the popular vote--but because Barack has THE KLAN on his side! Yep, Senator Robert Byrd, former Klansman from West Virginia has put all his hooded sheets behind Obama's bid for president. Hillary, girlfriend, your bid for the White House is over when the KLAN endorses a black man for president!   more »

I was in my weekly baby class; you know, the one where I'm the only sister... and one of the gals ask me if Andrew listened to classical music. My reply: "Of course my baby listens to all the great classics, Earth, Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder and The Ohio Players." While all the other kids are singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider"... Andrew is singing "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees (man, that Barry Gibb still gives me goose bumps!)...   more »

doing a movie on Mike Tyson? We know his crazy life story... we watched that train-wreck unfold before our eyes. But he was at the Cannes film festival this weekend sportin' those gold teefes and promoting his new movie "Tyson". Tyson told reporters "I've lived a wild life..." Ya think? Jail, drunks and a marriage to Robin Givens--I'm surprised he's still alive...   more »

There is a guy in Minneapolis, I don't know what his name is but he is a Youtube.com star!  He's got this video called "Chocolate Rain". I'm not sure what's so exciting about him singing in his broom closet and sounding like Barry White--but he's gotten like 6 million hits on their website! He's been on Jimmy Kemmel Live and all kinds of national shows like Good Morning America and The Today Show!

Well, I found out about his internet success after listening to my girl Kevyn Burger's radio show on FM 107.1--he was a guest--and talking about how he spanned the globe after people saw him on Youtube.com singing this silly a$$ song...

Moments later, I kid you not, I'm in the Cub Foods buying groceries with a hot check and before I could pay for them, the girl at the cash register asks me "Are you the guy who sings the Chocolate Rain song?"

I wanted to punch that heffa in the mouth!  Now mind you, I ain't looking all girly-girly... I got my oversized Oprah sweatrhirt on, some big baggy sweats and tennis shoes--sportin' my Oprah cap (y'all know I loves me some Mrs. Sophia) and I got my glasses on.  I rolled my eyes and said "Honey, I have breasts (although I'm still in a training bra), I've given birth and I have a husband--I don't think I'm the 'Chocolate Rain Dude' that you're looking for!

"Oh," she sighed, seeming disappointed, "You look just like him!  Have you seen his video?"

I wrote the hot check for that cheap a$$ bacon and that generic loaf of bread that's so hard it might as well be a loaf of crutons--and I headed home.

I couldn't stop thinking about my encounter with that dumb a$$ GED drop out of a cashier--so I clicked on Youtube.com to watch the video again.  All I could do was laugh y'all; this "brother" could surely be my sister!  I'm sure our families spent some time on the same plantation...

That’s all I can stand, I can’t stand no more!!! The economy is bad. Real bad. Gas is $3.70 a gallon, a pound of butter goes for $4.89, a gallon of milk is approaching $4.00, and a pack of bacon is over $5.00. We are cutting back but I’ve got to draw the line at my bacon.   more »

if you've ever had good home-made cinnamon rolls--but my husband has a recipe that'll make you want to slap yo momma! Now, these scrumptious buttery delicious bites of heaven are a “labor of love” and take him about 5 hour to prepare from start to finish. So he ain't cooked me a batch in at least six months. I told him, as punishment, every day that I don't have fresh homemade cinnamon rolls; I'm going to force him to have sex with me. That's more punishment than any married man can take!   more »

but former NBA great and TNT analyst Charles Barkley has me beat! He owes a Las Vegas hotel $400,000 in unpaid gambling debts. He'd better be glad it's not the 1930s and Bugsy Siegel ain't still running "Sin City"--cause he'd have a broken collar bone and two cracked ribs. But things are a lot nicer these days--now they're just going to sue him, call the media and tell the WORLD that he's an addict! I don't know about you, but I'd take the broken collar bone if that would make the IRS stop calling me...   more »

some of the meanest bosses ever known to mankind! And, none of those tyrants can hold a candle to my new supervisor: 22 MONTH OLD ANDREW! He won't let me join the union, I can't take 15 minute breaks to eat, my restroom breaks have all been eliminated and I haven't had a raise since I started the "mothering" gig...   more »

to kill him for the insurance money, and this time he's serious about it! Last night, while eating dinner, Shawn bit down too hard on the meat and broke a tooth. He knows good and well I'm not domestic, and that he needs to cut his meat into small tiny pieces otherwise, he runs the risk of something like this happening. He argued that skinless chicken breasts and mashed potatos shouldn't cause his teeth to shatter!

.(NOTE: There is an update to this story in posted comments that you've gotta read to believe!)

 

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I don't usually watch the show cause I feel like it's a waste of time and energy. None of the former winners is doing anything major with their recording career. But last night, Fantasia was on and girlfriend was anything but "idol-like"! She was sportin' the most "project-ish" hairdo and to top it off, her vocals weren't even on point. I caught a glimpse of Simon and Randy looking at each other like "We voted for this chick? What were we thinking?" She was just all wrong...   more »