Next year, things are locking up...

     Have you ever thought to Google "beautiful women"? You should try it. Chances are the women that appear don't really look like you or your daughters. I only looked through the first 10 pages. There were very few women of color. The women of color that were pictured all had straight hair. There were no heavy, thick, curvy (whatever word you like) women. A woman of color with natural hair did not appear until page six. The first few pages display scantily clad women in underwear or swimwear. Google doesn't define beauty but it is a reflection of what society values in women.

     For the past few years, I have been on a  mission to redefine beauty for my daughter. I want her to see that she is beautiful even if she can't see herself in Google images definition of beauty. I also want my son to appreciate the natural beauty in all women.  I embraced my natural hair, I work out and embrace my curves and I started eating more clean  foods to maintain my health. There was something lacking for me. For years (probably about 10) I have been talking about locking my hair. I never did for 1 million and 1 reasons. I was never ready for the commitment. I love my hair. I love the versatility of my  hair. I loved my afro. I loved it twisted. I loved it straight. I loved it crazy.There were also so many negative opinions about locs from people in my life. I wouldn't look professional. My locs would smell. I would not be attractive with them.

               Afro                                            Straight                                                Twist-Out

  

     I finally decided that I was ready for the commitment. I also decided that I did not care about any one else's opinion. I made an appointment and prepared myself for a few months of awkward hair. I got my hair interlocked instead of twisted because I wanted to make sure that my hair didn't unravel when I exercise. I went to Donella at the Salon Lofts in Shaker Ohio. I am very happy with my hair. In fact, I can honestly say I love my hair. It was already cut in a bob so the locs looked semi-cute after they were done. The hair in the back that was shaved was not long enough to interlock. When it grows out, we will interlock those.  When I left the shop, I teared up a little. I felt free. And happy with my choice.Who knew that such a small change would impact me in such a major way?

          Day One                                            Day Two                                     Day Three

Embracing the treadmill

Many people question my resolve as a runner because I frequently run on the treadmill. One of my family members often tells me that I am not a" real runner" because I run on a treadmill. I know that there are many who think less of those who run on the treadmill. I am not one of those people. I run outside during comfy temps and weather. It's not ideal for me to run in extreme heat or extreme cold and snow. I will run in freezing temps while it is in the process of snowing or if there is no snow build-up and I will run in the rain. I don't run outside if there is any chance at all that I could pass out from heat exhaustion or slip on ice and break a hip. I  can't imagine that a broken hip would be fun for me.

      I also run on the treadmill because I am a lazy runner. When I run outside, I find a comfortable pace and keep it. It is hard for me to push myself to run faster while outside (unless I'm running with the Joes). On the treadmill, I set a speed and run it. No matter what. I cover the console on the treadmill and let my NikePlus alert me to mile markers. Watching the numbers slowly change drives me crazy. I also feel more compelled to not change the speed unless I am increasing the speed. I am usually on a treadmill next to someone. As soon as I get on the treadmill, whoever is next to me is my competition. I need to workout longer and harder than them and I can't slow down. (This backfired once when, after an hour and 15 minutes, the young lady next to me admitted she does the same thing and was waiting for me to quit. We quit together...).

     Another plus to treadmill running is that I can do it whenever I want. I am sometimes busy with the Joes and cannot make it to the gym until late. Instead of running in the dark, I run in a safe, well lit environment. 

     I'll be the first to admit that treadmill running is extremely boring. I have developed games that I play with myself to keep on track. Sometimes I determine that I will run for a certain number of songs. Ten songs is usually 3 miles for me (a slower gal). Sometimes I increase the speed after a certain number of songs. For example, I start on 5.5 and after every 2 songs increase the speed .2. This game always has me finishing faster than I started and helps me practice conserving energy until the end of my run.

     While I am a big fan of the treadmill, I will never buy one for my home. I fear it will end up in the basement, looking pretty, not being used, like our beloved elliptical. I will stick to hitting the gym during inclement weather for my treadmill runs and loving it!!

Thankful...

I have seen a barrage of "what I'm thankful for" posts on social media for the holiday. For the most part, I read them and thought "Ehhh, isn't that a given?" I wanted to read some creative posts!!! I'm super "investigative" (some might call it nosey). I wanna read some lists that reveal a little more about people!! How can I expect it if I don't give it myself? So.......

20 things I am thankful for: (in no particular order...)

1.The Joes-They add so much to my life 

2. My kids athleticism-When I cheer, I have a sound reason and they won't be AS embarrassed by me

3. Sisters who are more like friends

4. Cousins who are more like siblings

5. Peanut Butter and Jelly (actually Jam)

6. Fall and Winter weather so I can wear my boots that I love so much

7. Turtleneck wearing season

8. Laughter

9. My health

10. Quitting my old job. I hated it so much it was eating away at my insides.

11. World Market-They always have good wines to try and great furniture

12. Kitchen gadgets-I LOVE them

13. Shellac- Theresa at Raun keeps my nails TOGETHER

14. TMHF for going with me to check out Honey 2 years ago. We love her!(Honey and TMHF)

15. Babies-All the new ones who joined our family this year

16. Friendships-Old and New

17. Family

18. Second chances

19. Forgiveness 

20. Screenshots- Some things just have to be saved for later and shared

How to not fail at feeding your kids

One of my co-workers told a story about a child who knew what she would be having for dinner days in advance. I quickly expressed my disdain for said child's parent.Not because the parent is evil, but because I am jealous of the skills it would take to master such a feat. I allowed this idea to consume me for a couple of days. I have done meal prep for the week in the past, but this does not usually include cooked foods. I usually prep veggies, season meats or make the baked egg cups for breakfast. Generally, I do not like to prepare food in advance. I am not a huge fan of the microwave and I prefer fresh cooked foods for dinner.I will eat leftovers and warm them in the microwave if they are available. I just don't want to if I don't have to. It's just my preference.

On Sunday, I happened upon an inspirational recipe site called Budget Bytes. There were so many recipes that were quick and easy and CHEAP!!! I decided that I would plan meals for the week. I printed out four recipes from the website. The fifth recipe was one of my own and the other days I left open to leftovers or tomfoolery.

On Sunday, we decided on a Spinach and Artichoke Wonderpot from the website. The littlest Joe was able to follow this recipe while I made homemade buttermilk biscuits. She used a little too much pepper but  the pasta was awesome. We used fresh spinach and frozen artichokes. We also sprinkled the pasta with Mozzarella cheese when it was done. The biscuits were ugly as sin but quite tasty. I was impressed. The Joes were impressed. So impressed that they asked for biscuits the next night as well!

On Monday, we had a crustless Spinach and Feta Quiche. Again, from Budget Bytes...The recipe calls for mushrooms. I hate mushrooms. We had a mushroom-less quiche. With biscuits. Again.

On Tuesday, I was a super lazy momma. I used one of my free days and ordered carryout for the kiddos.

Wednesday is usually the busiest day of our week. Big Joe had football practice and then band practice until 9PM. The littlest Joe has private Saxophone lessons in the evening. I have running around to do  in the midst of all this. I got up early this morning to prepare White bean soup from the Budget Bytes website. I had to alter this recipe quite a bit. I cooked the navy beans in chicken stock, with 2 smoked turkey tails, carrots, parsley root (I thought they were parsnips), onion, garlic and seasonings. I used soul seasoning, salt and pepper. This soup was sooo tasty. And there was so much of it. Definitely enough for leftovers!!!

Thursday was Halloween and despite the fact my children are big, huge humans, they were going trick or treating. The Littlest Joe was an 80's valley girl and the Biggest Joe was just creepy... Since they were given Chipotle gift cards for Sweetest Day by their adoring mom, they wanted to use them to get the 3 dollar Boo-rito and I obliged. I mean, helping to sort the candy and taking the yearly candy tax (they each give me candy for my sugar addiction) is hard work. Who could cook after that? Probably the aforementioned perfect mom...

Friday was the last football game of the season. When I got home, The Littlest Joe had left to hang out with a friend before the game and the Biggest Joe was still at school getting ready for the big game. I mixed some leftover white bean soup with rice and had leftovers for dinner. (I will have to try a less offensive bean next time).

Saturday was pork stir fry. This is my own little recipe. Cut up a pork tenderloin. Sauteed pea pods, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, onion and garlic. Added soy sauce and seasoning, of course. Yum-tastic!! This was served over rice. Which magically cooks itself in the rice cooker as the meat and veggies are being cooked.

I chose recipes that were manageable. I shopped in advance. I did not commit to cooking a specific meal on a specific day. The Joes helped in the decision making process. I was open to failure. Every one will not like everything. There is always an alternative choice. Its usually PBJ...I think this week in meal planning was a huge success. Now to plan for next week...

Recap of the summer (Part Deux)

I planned a little trip to Toronto this summer. My brother, Jason, lives there and this trip has been a long time coming. I planned to take the Joes, my cousin DuAne,  my nephew Bradley and two of his buddies from college (my extra nieces). When the time came for us to take our trip, Big Joe informed me that he could not miss that many days of football practice. He was gonna have to hang back. DuAne told us that he wouldn't be able to get time away and one of the extra nieces, Laina was out of the country. I was most disappointed that Big Joe was not going. He is 15 and able to stay home alone but I was looking forward to a family vacation. And who knew what he would be up to whilst I was away!!!

We drove to Canada on a Thursday morning. By we, I mean, Bradley. I was super excited to be a passenger on a road trip. I am usually the driver. It was a pretty uneventful trip. We listened to music and ate snacks and laughed and talked. When we crossed the border to Canada, we were all excited. We took pictures and began our countdown to our arrival at our destination. Soon, our happiness turned to frustration when we realized that our cell service was no longer working and our GPS no longer worked. We missed a turn and the GPS would not reroute us. LOST. IN. ANOTHER. COUNTRY. We finally figured it out and eventually made it to our hotel. The hotel was a Doubletree hotel outside of Toronto and was very nice and it prided itself on being a very "green" establishment. WIN!!!We drove around for 4 days in Toronto with archaic printed directions until my cousin J asked why wasn't I using my Tom Tom. AAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!!! I haven't used it in so long that I forgot I had it. It was helpful for the rest of our trip and the ride home.Duh!!

Jason, his GF Stefy and J2

J2, me, Taryn, Bradley and Jason

CN Tower

While in Toronto, we ate good food every single night. We attended an Afro-Caribbean festival. We took a boat tour of Toronto's waterfront. We shopped. We visited tourist spots. We had a great time.

Fancy!!!

Bradley and me at Spring Sushi

J2, Taryn and Jason at Spring Sushi

There was one tiny problem at the hotel the night before we left. Bradley and extra niece Taryn were heading out for an exciting night on the town in Toronto when they got stuck in the elevator. For about an hour and a half. The fire department had to come and rescue them. I believe there were tears. I was not crying...

Bradley FaceTimed me while stuck in the elevator

On our way home, we stopped in Niagara Falls. We parked in New York and walked across the border to Canada. We ate dinner at Planet Hollywood and had chocolate at the Hershey store.

We had an awesome time. Big Joe called me several times asking when we were coming home. He missed us. I had given my friends his number and gave him theirs in the event that he needed something. One friend, Tiara, called and checked on him AND went by to  visit him. What an awesome Kid-Spy!!!

I definitely enjoyed Toronto and will have to go back soon.

Getting back on the proverbial horse or literal bicycle...

Longest bike ride this summer...Hit a 4 minute mile in there!!

I had to buy new bicycles for The Joes last year. I went to Target one night and excitedly bought them both new bikes. I explained that they should take care of them, lock them up and not leave them in the driveway. One week after I purchased them, The biggest Joe left the littlest Joe's bike in the driveway and it met an untimely death. The biggest Joe's pedal fell off of his bike. We returned it and got another. Both pedals fell off. In the meantime , I lost my receipt. We're currently stuck with a pedal-less bike.  Needless to say, bicycle shopping in 2012 was pretty much a bust. 

This year, I invested in good bikes that will last for The Joes. The biggest Joe has a Giant brand bike and the littlest Joe has a Fuji brand bike. When I brought that Fuji bike home for the littlest Joe, I just had to try it. I needed to see if there was a difference between my cheap bike and this pricey bike. I can tell you with all certainty, that there is a difference. Over the summer, I have alternated between riding both of the Joes bikes. If I ride with the littlest Joe, I ride Big Joe's bike. If I ride alone, I ride the littlest Joe's bike. Starting to ride was a little difficult. I was only able to ride 5 miles in an half hour on my first ride. I set a goal for myself to be able to ride a double digit ride (10 miles or more) in an hour by the end of summer. I also wanted to spin for the entire ride (no coasting, constant peddling). A friend of mine who bikes encouraged me to try this. I rode about twice a week and used RunKeeper to track my rides.  My longest ride so far has been 11 miles. I participated in a virtual 50 mile race and used this race as inspiration to get in some miles on the bike.

Views from the ride

Swag bag from virtual 50 mile race for Alzheimer's Awareness

Recap of the summer (Part Uno)

I had an eventful summer this year. I had planned a mini vacation without the Joes and a family vacation with the Joes and my nephew, Bradley. I was super excited about both vacations. I was spending my mini-vacation with an old friend that I semi-dated in college in Puerto Rico and we were spending our family vacation in Toronto, visiting my younger brother, Jason. I had never been to either place. On the Tuesday before my Puerto Rico trip, I got a call while at my standing nail appointment (this is how I remember it was a Tuesday) from my friend from college (for convenience's sake, we can call him Steven). Of course, I couldn't answer because I was mid-Shellac and who wants to mess up their Shellac?? I listened to the message and found that he was cancelling due to work. I responded and told him that I was okay with going alone and that I would just do all the activities I scheduled alone. He selfishly requested that I not go without him. I stupidly obliged. The ticket that I bought was non-refundable but I had a layover in Atlanta so I decided to make some lemonade out of the lemons I had been handed. I bought a return flight to Cleveland, booked a hotel in Atlanta, reserved a car and called my buddies that lived there to make plans. I met up with a girlfriend from college, LuShaun, who is pregnant, for breakfast (my favorite meal of the day). She was absolutely adorable!! I shopped and ate with my girlfriend Nicole and her husband and then celebrated her birthday at a DJ Jazzy Jeff party. We also walked for exercise...around an outdoor shopping mall... I hung out with Shelly, my buddy from 6th grade (yes, 27 years) for drinks and then spent a leisurely day at the pool with her mom, her sister and her very adorable nephews. I also had lots of fun at dinner with my cousin Gary. Overall, I had a terrific time with my friends and family. I am a little bummed that I missed out on Puerto Rico. I wish that I had just gone alone but I am totally grateful for the much needed time away. I took one picture while in Atlanta. It's a selfie. The other two are stolen from other social media sites...

My outfit looks funny in the other pic. I think it's cuter here;-)

Me and Shelly

Nicole and Me at her birthday party