Chicago Blizzard 2011

So I have been holed up in my house for two days because Chicago and other parts of the midwest and apparently Dallas and 'nem experienced some bad weather... 20-some odd inches of snow that resulted in snow days for the entire CPS and suburban school systems. We took in the time off with board games, food and fun as a family and it was super fun...

Back to work tomorrow though.... but we made it!!





my truck


snow midday...ghost town...

I guess they really had to be there! Don't think the bus is coming tho!

Poor bastard... shoveling the alley to try and get his car out... at 9 a.m.

We Survived Chicago Blizzard 2011!

Dreaming in Reality

"Last night I had a dream, thoughts of you were in my head... felt soo real to me, this is what (it) said...." ~ "It Was All A Dream" Jay-Z

I had a dream that he proposed to me on a Sunday morning, and by noon Monday we were married at the Daley Center (assuming that's where that happens cause I haven't the slightest idea) Monday night our ring fingers were tatted... because I dream in color, we spent the first newlywed year vibrant and lively... growing in the Truth and stepping over worldly pressures... and then we partied and celebrated with our closest family and friends at our anniversary party renewing our vows, dancing up a storm and all smiles...

Hey, a (Real Black) Girl can dream.... can't she? :-)

image source: http://clubs.plattsburgh.edu/museum/studio6.htm

H-A-Double U-A-Eye-Eye!

"Ma$e can you please stop smokin La La? Puff why try, I'ma thug I'ma die high!"

Exactly 3 months till the honey and I venture to the islands of Hawaii for his 30th Bday and my MISSION is to be 20 lbs lighter. I often frown on deadline-oriented goals. Because even though they are effective, they can be damaging because people put back on the pounds directly after they are done traveling, with the engagement, ceremony or whatever special occasion it is. (I will NOT be one of those people.... no, but forreal. If anything this trip is just what I needed to get serious.)

The Y had a special on summer memberships again, so I got in on that. $25 a month for the family and I to use any Y in the Metro Chicago area. I will be focusing on 10,000 steps a day, a morning workout via Chalene Extreme (starting Sunday morning), lunchtime workouts that started this week, evening strolls with my Soror and our youth on Mondays and Wednesdays (resuming next week, the weather has sucked this week - Midwest-like "tornado" yesterday and all) and a couple evening workouts at my neighborhood Y on lighter days. In all 6 days of working out, but one is more Tai Chi/Yoga/Stretch related so it's really a "rest day" too. I wrote it all out yesterday. In addition, I will still be following the good health guidelines of WW.. no fad diets for me. I will also be participating in a couple Mommy and Me classes they offer with my sun. Gymnstics and Kiddie Groove to name a couple!

All that being said, my MISSION is 20 lbs but I will be more than satisfied with 12-16 (you know weight loss is a strange beast) but I'm confident 20 won't be too far a stretch. In addition, in Hawaii, I WILL be 1. wearing bikinis (I've already started to look for them because this will make sure I don't overeat; can't be walking round Hawaii with a big ol gut!) 2. doing activities that don't just involve lying on the beach (I've already purchased a hiking excursion, debating on another because it takes a great part of one day away from us... but it has waterfalls!) and 3. using the fitness center. Plus 4. enjoying in-room activities.

Super excited. I've never been to Hawaii before... and I hear it's expensive, but well worth the visit. We'll both be 30, it's time to start living life and enjoying all its blessings. Right, bra? (a lil Hawaii slang... just cuz!)

The storm is over now... let some sunshine in.

Get On My Level

"Water seeks its own level." ~ExH.I.T.

Greetings and Salutations! (I've always wanted to "say" that... not sure why.) I come to you a very content woman today as I progress in all facets. Officially 10 pounds lighter, I now can really feel like I am taking steps in the right direction of where my place in this life is going. I am pleased to be making adjustments and doing daily work with someone on my level.

Working as a team is pretty OK, I'm learning... doing away with the selfishness of the past and moving toward a future is healthy and progressive and, I'm learning, a lot of fun. It's nice to stop focusing on the small stuff, and entrust that to Jehovah that he will take care of it in his time, but to keep my mind focused on the big things and keep enjoying where I am in this space and time. I love it. Recently, the mister and I have started working out... together.

"The best way to enhance a relationship is to lead a healthy lifestyle -- as a couple." ~ Jillian (That Deal) Michaels (I adore Jillian... I may have a teeny girl crush on her... teeny.)

It's different and liberating for me to have gone back to leading a healthy lifestyle while in a life with someone... before I've always done it when I kick someone to the curb, get my sexy back as a single girl... then get in a relationship and lose myself in him with date nights, alcohol-infused functions, lazy Saturdays and just being in love and happily fat and all that... so it was nice to get the gumption to return to WW while in a couple, and then see him take an interest in getting himself back young and fit as well. Very cool stuff. Of course now, that adds a bit of pressure for me because EVERYBODY knows men lose weight much faster than we do, so I would be lying if I didn't say, he pushes me because when I want to have a honey bun for breakfast and he chooses Total, I get back on my mental ya dig. Granted, neither of us is (fortunately) anywhere close to being like a gastric candidate or anything, but it's amazing just the energy you get back from doing just a little bit more than you did last week, yesterday... and the different things you have energy for and how it enhances you.

"When you're feeling strong and confident, you also feel a lot sexier—and that'll boost your sex life." ~J. Michaels

I have been getting the baby itch lately... my poor sun wants to see his friends, his cousins, anyone he can to play with... but I cannot, will not, enter into another pregnancy overweight (or unmarried for that matter but mostly overweight) because I just can't keep doing this back and forth anymore with my health. I've got to prove to myself that I AM in control of my own body.
"Make a woman feel like she's the hottest, most feminine person in the world and she'll love you..." I like that one Jillian... to the same effect as women, doing the work to make ourselves healthier and feeling inside that will exude that femininity, brew that sexiness, and we will (more importantly) love OURSELVES... I love myself you guys!!!

I know and understand that there's ways to enjoy life and the things I want in a pair without sacrificing my temple ANY longer. It's just... nice... sure it has it's scary parts and plot twists here and there, but watching the "fairytale" unfold is definitely making me a lot more level-headed.

Photo Source: http://www.geo.uu.nl/fg/palaeogeography/pictures/results_fluvialstyle/02_Meanderende_rivier.jpg

I'm Just Lovin' ME For a Moment

Pardon me... I'm just loving me for a moment this morning.

I woke up this morning to the smell of my conditioned hair...
As I lay in my satin sheets, I noticed the beautiful outline of my vessel.

It came to me...
I am a resurrected vessel... Beautiful. Moving into another level of wholeness. I think I ought to love ME this morning..

Pardon me... I'm just loving ME for a moment this morning

I woke up this morning to the pattern of my own shadow; I cannot only see it but I can appreciate it. If a perfect God can take that much time in molding ME, loving ME, cherishing ME, reshaping ME... then surely I am worth loving me...

Pardon me... I'm just loving ME for a moment this morning

I woke up this morning alone, but not lonely. I got tired of waiting for someone to put ice in my soda, milk in my tea, jam on my biscuits, peas in my rice, and soap on my back.

I am not alone.

I have me.... I have me.... I have ME....
and then I have the omnipresent God who has made me...
When I put the ice in my soda... He stands there observing me...
ready to suggest creative ways to set my table.

Pardon me... I'm just loving ME for a moment this morning

I woke up this morning and beheld the beautiful reflection of a five-foot-something frame; a soft smile, a shiny nose , medium length hair, brown-skinned complexion, and a Biblically perfect shape. I leaned forward and kissed the mirror... "I LOVE YOU, GIRL!" Not because of your external beauty... Not because Mama said you were beautiful... Not because a man told you you were beautiful, NO!

Because God values... YOU!
Because God loves... YOU!
When I look at all your attributes, and I think about what God has predestined you to become... I can only say that I LOVE you..

For all the battles you've conquered...
For the tears you've shed...
For the negative words that shot you down...
For the pain you've overcome...
For the growth you've sustained... I LOVE YOU, Girl..

Pardon me... I'm just loving ME for a moment this morning

~Minister Nina Clark~

The Best I Eva Had

"U da fuckin best"

I'm a Movement By Myself...

But I'ma force when I got it together. :)

I joined the YMCA today and can't wait to wake up early and go workout! I know it sounds odd... but yeah, that's what it is... I hate New Year's Resolutions... I rarely keep them. So I didn't make any for 2009... but I feel ... different now. Like a plan of action and I are really ready to work together for the first time again since 2006... (OK, that might be a stretch... but you get me.)

List suggestions borrowed from an old Amazon email I got at the beginning of the year...

		Lose Weight I really want to lose some weight/inches and tone up this young stocky frame of mine. To make this happen, I have to seriously take into consideration that there will be work involved. I don't have to be completely pristine in everything I do just yet, but I do need to get the ball rolling. If I am constantly working out, eating healthier, smaller portions will surely come. I am one of those "don't want to ruin my hard work" folks... hence morning workouts despite the fact that I am not a morning person.
		Get Finances in Order My debt has grown substantially since I returned to Chicago. While it sucks big time, I am glad to have a budget ready for it. It's gonna take some meticulous planning and patience, but I'll get it done.
		Go Greener Bought a bike, ride it places I would normally drive. Walk to places where I would normally drive. Reusable grocery bags. 60% organic foods making up my diet... think I'm good here.
		Curb Your Vices *sigh* OK, so I don't have a drinking problem. No, really, I don't. I stopped for a whole nine months when pregnant, but I could go to trim down some of the alcoholic beverage consumption. I also overeat like a mofo. I eat things I shouldn't and feel like crap afterwards. I need to accept that I use food as a vice. When I am happy, I eat, when I am sad, I eat... when I am hormonal, I eat. You dig?
		Get in Shape Directly correlated with number one... yet people rarely understand that. You can be the skinniest, smallest person in the world and still be extremely out of shape. Getting well is a 360 degree process of determination. We must shed, tone AND build our endurance. I will... This will need cardio and strength training and good food fuel.
		Relax More This is so much easier than done. But I am working on it... I am in the process of putting together my meditation corner and closet sketches to get that project underway to have a quiet corner to enjoy a girly movie, soak my feet (I need to get a new one of them joints in the picture), listen to some jazz, study, meditate while burning candles... real hip stuff... I'ma take pictures. It's gone be awesome.
		Pursue a New Career You guys already know my job situation and hell, the job situation of something like 58% of our population? Or has it grown? So I have begun to really, really focus on getting my business(es) off the ground. I realize I am often all over the place, but the last month has been pretty forward progress. The way I feel, marketing or fitness, the sky is the limit.. I just need to get my drive in order and control this laze. I hate to use being a mom as an excuse, so even though I have become seriously engulfed in my child, it's up to me to not let Momhood consume me. My schedule IS crazy, but hey, he is the reason why I HAVE to get it together... And sooner rather than later. Hell, he's expensive. So even though the economy's kickin butt and taking names right now, I am thankful I have some marketable skills to get me through the summer. Reently I've been sought out for three contract jobs... all of which I accepted and I am also FINALLY studying... for real this time! :) "Scared (money) don't make no money!"
		Upgrade Your Technology Um, well new technology costs money and I just cut up my credit cards, so if I can't buy it outright I can't get it. BUT I do have a wonderful year-old MacBook Pro, just got an iPod Touch for Mom Day, I bought a 42" TV for Christmas and my 37" just made it back into the house and Rj's 27" is still ticking... electronics and appliances are all up to date and code. I could use a new cordless telephone... lil ol Panasonic is at LEAST a decade old but she holds on anyhow... trust me, buying quality electronics is worth the extra money... The Sun has brought down that big Panasonic TV twice and it's still holding on at five years old.
		Organize and Optimize The workout closet was my first project... now that that is complete, I must move on to the clothes closet (my house while fabulous has terrible closet space) and then I still really need to get my desk in order too... I haven't really went through the papers and things like I should. Though I did do a lot of damage at spring cleaning...
		Start a New Hobby Um, still working on this one since crocheting went to shit... lol Sewing maybe? It's sexy to make your own shit... or so I hear. hahaha!!