Life
brings things, life takes things away. Sometimes life gives me a
choice and then I have to prioritize. At times I pick up too many
things; I find myself bogged down and have to place some things back on
the shelf, even if just for a while.
I grab hold to success for dear life. If I let this go I will have no esteem for myself.
I take on an extra family burden or two, because that's what family does, what my brother or sister cannot carry, I shall haul.
I snatch a bag of busy for no damn reason; If I slow down I feel like a lazy piece of sh-
I had a little ounce of joy but my hands were getting way to full and I just had to let go of something.
It's funny, that ounce made no difference in the weight I was carrying but made all the difference in the way I carried it.
I
only intended to place that little ounce back on the shelf, but instead
I noticed my passion, my light, and my dreams were dropping slowly too.
Now I am here sitting in an unfamiliar aisle, with things I never really needed and all I want is a sprig of joy.
As if the world were not cruel enough the United States Congress is working towards censoring the Internet. Want to know how it works? Watch this...
Think it won't affect jobs, You thought wrong. Read what the President and CEO of Consumer Electronics Association Gary Shapiro has to say about all of this. Click Here!
Senator Wyden knows it will affect everyday lives... You should know how it will affect you too. Click Here!
Knowledge is power, but ACTION is EVERYTHING! Click here to ACT NOW!
Discount, Savings, Sale, Free, I have loved these words since the age of three. Now that I am... well not three, I love them even more.
In a day where almost everyone is trying to save, many have decided to cut back; in some cases this includes cellphone plans. For these individuals, the day of unlimited everything has come to a halt. But in an era where communication could mean the difference between a job or an unemployment check, it pays to stay connected.
Opera Mini, Opera Mobile advertises "... compression technology to reduce data costs by up to 90%". That could mean HUGE monthly savings for anyone who does not have an unlimited data plan. Don't take my word for it, check it out yourself. Opera
Cravings! It is funny how I only begin to have the "raging crave" when I am suppose to be on a strict diet. My food hogging, over indulgent, insatiable, glutenous inner child always finds ways to tempt me. Evil heifer! However evil her intentions may be I have found ways to trick that taunting 11 year old pest. On the quest to eat until my palette was content I found tapas; TAPAteria to be exact.
In the heart of Old Colorado Springs was everything I was looking for in that very moment; cute, quiet, delicious and comfortable. Greeted by a young face and a smile I was directed to a table that faced the door and all of the cobbled runway. My inner twerp guided me here, so there was no sense in looking at the menu I knew what she wanted... Garlic Bulb! I know, I know, her palette is Grow-own (grown).
Knowing that I would only end up hungry in a matter of minutes I decided to order a side of Carne Adobada. Yes, my garlic was the main course. Nevertheless, my "everything I was looking for", quickly became my "everything I expected". Finally, a restaurant in Colorado Springs where I did not have to ask for a refund and a comment card. Delighted, I decided to pay myself with a dessert, after all I did find a new "spot". So, bread pudding it is. LOL Drizzled in orange infused dark chocolate and random splashes of caramel, it was the perfect ending to a fantastic evening.
When I think of a soda shop, I think of store with a long countertop and stools with candy apple red and glitter padding. I envision an old man in an all white outfit and a boat shaped hat ready to take my order.
But when I walk into Squeak of southern Colorado Springs I got something out of the scene of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It's not a big shop, nor does have little blue people taking your order but it does have the essence of imagination, fun and innocence.
When I walked in I was greeted my colorfully painted walls, candy jars and a woman with a warm smile. Starved for a sandwich and soda, I ordered a Turkey Bacon Dijon pannini and a Lemonade Stand Soda. With sides like chips or popcorn it was obvious that not only was at "the" kid place but also would not be having a combo meal. While waiting for my pannini I had the option of playing board games or a selection of games on the in store Wii console. My heart was filled with joy. Though I missed my son with all my being I took pride in knowing that when I returned with my family we all would all share laughs and sodas at an exciting soda shop.
So if you have never been to a soda shop, I implore you to try out Squeak the next time you are in Colorado Springs. Oh, and if you find a flavor that you just have to share, Squeaks also bottles their sodas for convenient six packs.
It's October again! I LOVE fall and just for the colors, the clothes, the boots, and the weather. While many are focusing on getting their burnt orange, rustic reds and chocolatey brown fixings out of storage I am busy try to paint the town pink. Yes I said it, PINK! Though there are many festive colors that come to mind for the season, pink is the most important color for October. Breast cancer awareness IS October. Each year the many organizations as well as the people that support them become more innovative about getting the notice attention towards. Here are the two that really stayed with me. Feel free to share any that really touched your heart or made an imprint on your mind.
In a time where album covers look repetitive, lyrics seem redundant and imaging appears to be the art of blending the strong fine lines until all becomes one; few artists have found ways to stay true to themselves and their craft. Underground music has always been the place to find the real, the raw and the finest. Ease DaMan has allowed himself to be completely transparent with the drop of his highly anticipated mixtape, AVERAGE SIZEd PENIS. To get your copy of AVERAGE SIZEd PENIS just download! And don't forget to tell me what you think!
Every workout is not created equal. Even if you have the same routine, often times your motivation and/or your energy levels may vary. To get me to the right mental state that I have various musical playlists. Here is my Urban playlist. It is another way to get and keep you moving.
Once in oven do not open the oven until souffle is cooked.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray the
bottoms of 4 single-serve ramekins (soufflé cups).
In a heavy saucepan combine the cocoa and flour. Add milk and 3 tbsp of honey and whisk smooth.
Cook, stirring, over low-medium heat until thick, approximately 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla and set aside to cool slightly.
Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a small mixing bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining honey and continue beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.
Fold 1/4 cup of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten; then gently fold in remaining whites. Divide mixture evenly into the prepared ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes, or until puffy and set. Serve immediately.
You ever get the urge to pig out? I mean completely undo all the calorie burning that you put in for the last week? I know I do. My mind and mouth tell me I have earned it. They are so manipulative. LOL. At 140 calories there is no reason to call this chocolatey delight your enemy. Did I mention it only takes 30 minutes to make? Click here to make your own.
You might want a glass of milk with this rich treat.
As you may have heard, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I don't know about you, but I always try to get the most out of everything. I am a multitask-er and I want to my meals to be too. I wanted a low calorie, nutritional, great tasting, filling, quick, easy and inexpensive breakfast. I found it, I love it and I had to share it. The winner is... Grain Hot Cereal. There are several brands that you can go for. There are 5, 7 and 10 grain blends. My personal favorite is Hodgson Mill Multi Grain Hot Cereal. I love it because it tastes awesome. If you are a fan of oatmeal than this hot cereal is for you. It is packed with Omega-3 oils, high in fiber and has whole grains. The best part is the only ingredients are the grains.
This is a great option if you are on an "Eat Clean" diet.
I've been "gone" for months and the only thing my faithful readers are asking is... "What are you eating?" LOL, I love you guys. You asked and I am answering. For the most part I am trying to eat healthier, smarter and cheaper. So I hope you enjoy reading and eating. P.S. I missed you too. xo
Everyone needs a break from everything at some time. So enough with the indian food already. After eating my fair share of spice, Spice and more SPICE. I decided a creamy, filling pasta dish would be just the meal to cleanse my palette. Well I was right, and I stayed on track with my diet. Thanks Cindy & Carl!
Music can be a soother after a rough day at work. Well I had a rough week and I couldn't articulate how I felt so I got home and played me a song. Thanks Mr. Hayes you saved the day. And to you muvs- that had me pray for Friday... you can suck 'em. LOL
A lot of people are under the misconception that you need to have a lot of money to eat healthy and/or diet. That is so far from the truth. So to try to keep the wallets from rolling on "E" I will share some of my tricks.
TIP 1: Eat plenty of yogurt. Not only does it taste good but the probiotics help keep your colon clean. Yogurt can be used in dishes from sweet to savory, and cost you pennies if you are willing to put in a little work. Ways it can be used: Dips (especially in indian food), breakfast (tastes great w/ fruit and granola), snacks, and frozen. The possibilities are endless and cost is low.
What you need to make yogurt:
3 to 6 ounces of Plain yogurt
Milk, I use 2% lactose free milk
storing jars, I used glass mason jars
whisk
oven friendly pot
candy thermometer
Like the video says Greek yogurt has a great fat content so for dieting purposes I would NOT advise you to use heavy cream. Secondly, you do not have to strain your yogurt, if you feel as though it has to much weigh I would suggest pouring out some of the weigh as you open the next jar of yogurt.. do not pour it all out as once. Lastly, the longer you have your yogurt in the oven the more tart it will taste. So be cautious with the oven usage if you are not fond of European style yogurt. If you are not sure how long to leave it in the oven, in regards to tartness, experiment. Take one out as soon as it is finished and begin to take out the others in 1/2 hour to 1 hour increments; label the jars with t-(length of time in oven (T-3hrs)) so you can tell them apart later.
Before I had my son I was 130 lbs. By the time I was ready to give birth I was 181 lbs. After labor I was 170lbs. To some that may be nothing, but for a female that has never been bigger than a size 4 it was heart breaking. After 30 days of allowing my body to adjust to the hormone levels and trying to see if anything would miraculously bounce back,with the help of a girdle of course, I had a decision to make. Was I going to live with this excess weight that I had acquired over the previous 9 months OR loose the weight? Well if you have not been able to tell I chose to loose the weight.
At first it was nothing but easy. The first 25 pounds melted off easily: I ate yogurt, fresh seasonal fruit and granola for breakfast, vegetables and toast for lunch and medium to light pasta for dinner.
I worked out 8 times a week Monday-Friday with a lot of stretching on Saturday. I drank no soda, one glass of juice a day and plenty of water. After two months of eating like that I started to eat my normal foods but I concentrated more on portions. This helped out a lot. I never felt cheated on my meals but still knew that was staying on track with my weight goals. Needless to say I lost 25 pounds in 2 1/2 months. I was happy and complacent. I grew so bored of the thought of dieting and became extra bored with eating the same things regularly. My heart wanted to loose the weight my stomach and taste buds could care less.
So here I am FOUR MONTHS later and I still have ten more pounds to loose! How do plan to loose this weight? Plenty of cardio and a variety of food.
I plan to cook food from a different country until I have had my fill of that nation's cuisine . Then move on to my next destination. Simple as that. Right now I am exploring Indian cuisine. Plenty of spices, lots of vegetables, fruits and yogurts. I am still going to focus on portions. But I know that without variety I will falter. So here is to better portions, plenty of variety and a well used wooden spoon. P.S. I will be doing this on a serious budget so pray for me.
Often times when you go to a Black History exhibition there are the typical facts... maybe a poem and speech of some sort. Today I was presented with a film so unique that it had me hungry for more... Today I had the pleasure of meeting Frank Martin, the director of the film "For Love of Liberty".
Hosted by Halle Berry and voiced over by Ice-T, Mel Gibson, John
Travolta, Bill Cosby and many many more, the film contains letters & stories of
African American men and women that served their country selflessly in the pursuit of liberty. It is seldom that you will view this documentary on PBS, but if it does show please put it on your calendar.
I love history. I love documentaries. I love history documentaries.
I usually don't do this... but here is a picture that made me happy today.
Anti-government protesters form a human chain to prevent Egyptian
Army tanks from clearing barricades, next to the Egyptian Museum at an
entrance to Tahrir square in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011.
There are a lot of horrendous and beautiful aspects about Black History; all of which, I have come to accept as part of my heritage. But now, now there is an epidemic sweeping through our communities like a retail hungry fashionista rummaging through a Carolina Herrera sample sale, HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS will quickly become a part of our history forever, unless we begin to become accountable for our actions.
The more I speak out on issues such as sexually transmitted diseases, the more I encounter sexually active people who are oblivious to the risks. Too many are having sex, of all sorts, and not using proper protection. Too many are not speaking about their sexual history with their partner(s). Too many are sexually active and not getting tested... TOO MANY!
Time, life and history can deal us hands that are not preventable. Fortunately, HIV/AIDS IS preventable. So get educated, begin educating and know your status.
In 2008, the estimated number of AIDS diagnoses in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, by race or ethnicity was as follows:
Of the estimated number of AIDS diagnoses in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the distribution of ages at time of diagnosis was as follows:
½ stick Crisco® All-Vegetable
Shortening Sticks OR ½ cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening
1 ¼ cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 ¾ cups All Purpose Flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons flax seed meal
Directions
HEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended.
COMBINE flours, baking soda, salt and flax seed meal. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2-inches apart onto greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of fork.
BAKE one baking sheet at a time 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.
Courtesy of Crisco® via Food Network.com, edited by Amanda D.
So I love cookies... I would say that I am "the" Cookie Monster of my family, but I think that title belongs to my little brother, Ja-Mez. The only thing that I do not like is that when I make my mini bites of heaven, they contain little to no nutritional value. So I started to think, "how could I make my portable treats delicious and somewhat nutritional?" Flax seed baby! I know, I know... it sounds gross and alone it probably is, but when mixed with some awesome ingredients you can trick even the finickiest of children to eat Omega 3s. Flax seed can be found in three different forms seed, meal, and oil. I usually use flax seed meal because I don't like to feel the seeds, and the oil may change the chemistry of a recipe. But whichever way you use it is fine, just use it. Need an idea? Try this one.
I
love cheese! I love lots of
cheese on just about everything. In an attempt to eat more seasonal
food I thought it would be cool to add cheese and squash. This was
one of the best things ever. The sweetness of the baked squash, with
the saltiness of the cheese. The savory herbs and touch of heat. My
only regret was that I did not find out about this before
Thanksgiving. This may cost you some extra cardio, but it is so worth
it. Did I mention that I LOVE cheese!
Ingredients
3 minced garlic cloves 2 minced sage leaves 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 4 Tb breadcrumbs 4 Tb olive oil Salt crushed red pepper flakes 1 acorn squash
Directions
Preheat oven at 450 degrees F. Mix
first seven ingredients together in a bowl. Line baking sheet with
parchment paper. Thinly slice the acorn squash and place on baking
sheet. Pat cheese mixture onto acorn wedges. Squash should be in a
single layer on the sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in oven.
*If you want each wedge to be fully "cheesed out" use 1/2 acorn squash per cheese mixture. Note that making it "cheesed out" is what makes it a "Food Hiccup".
Like every other person that is displeased with their image, I decided to loose weight for the New Year. I workout out at least 8 times a week... Monday through Friday. I eat low carb everything. Plenty of Omegas (I'm addicted to flax seed) and tons of water. My main focus is not the type of food but the portions. I find that I eat a lot of "good" food; I just eat too much of it. As focused as I may appear I do slip up from time to time, and when I slip up I do it right. I mean smoothies, pasta, and cheese on top of cheese, on top of cheese. Not all at on time but, that doesn't sound like a bad idea either. ;)
Well I just thought I'd share some of those beautiful... hiccups with you. I'm not suggesting that you bend or cheat yourself from attaining any goals. But if you should choose to reward yourself with a little food indulgence. I just may have a suggestion or two that is geared towards you.
Have
you ever done a task that was so symbolic to what you are currently
experiencing in your life? I have; actually I JUST finished. I am
currently in the armed forces and I want to be certified in a signal
related job. This job entails gaffing up a pole. Gaffing is when you
use climbers, which look like the leg braces that Forrest Gump had on
his legs as a child, to get up a pole. Attached to these climbers are
gaffs: small, sharpened metal shanks. The simplest way to explain it
is, you stick your foot in the wooden pole with one gaff and climb up
the pole. Sounds easy enough. But like most things that look and sound
easy, it wasn't. I needed to climb to a certain distance without any
support other than my gaffs and my arms. Then place the safety strap
around me while still keeping hold of the pole. Once my aid was in
place I needed to continue up the pole until I reached the top. When I
reached the top I need to install & uninstall hardware to the pole,
without dropping anything. If I dropped any equipment I had to go back
down and get it, then start over. If while installing and uninstalling
the hardware I did not make all the facing movements taught by the
instructor, I still had to complete them before coming down. If I lost
my footing at anytime and then fell, I had to gather my bearings and
start all over again. All of this needed to be done with a day and half
worth of training. I know I may be loosing some of you, so here is an
example of what I needed to do.
Nice
video right? Did you notice how graceful and strategic that man was? That, is not how I looked. I think I fell at least four times. It was
not pretty. I had splinters, I was getting hot and fatigued and my
frustrations levels were increasing with every failed attempt. Everyone
else was getting up there with little to no problems. Here I was with a
dust cloud all around me because I had fallen from the halfway point.
The icing on the cake was that I was in a class of ALL males and I was on
the verge of having a visit from my red headed friend. AWESOME! So now I
am extra emotional about...well... Everything. ;)
I
got home from my physically and mentally irritating work day ready to
quit. This was too hard, my body hurt, and I already felt like a
failure. I just wanted to withdraw myself from the course before I
injured myself or made a bigger fool of myself. My husband listened as I
went on and on about how horrible it was (never actually saying that I
wanted to quit). I was having so many problems getting to the halfway
point; how could I be sure that I wasn't going to fall once I reached
the top? My instructor that was at the base of the pole was a man that I
used to work with daily. He is one of those people who believes that
what you believe is wrong, unless it is conjured up by a conspiracy
theorist, --that includes, but is not limited to, religion. So there
I was ¾ of the way up the pole scared because my gaff had gotten stuck
and I did not want to jerk it out and my instructor tells me to “have
faith”. Well I didn't and did not appreciate hearing those words coming
out of his mouth. His annoying voice was stuck in my head all day going into the night saying, “have faith”.
I
laid down in my bed recapping the day as I always do, trying to
visualize my mistakes or recognize anything previously overlooked. This
gaffing was so symbolic of my life. Every goal I set, I do with
intentions of getting to the top. But my tools in life always seem so...
dark ages. Instead of getting it handed to me like my friends, I had to
WORK. Then when having to work it always looked like everyone else was
getting through their struggles with ease, almost as if it were not a
struggle at all. At times I would get a bot of momentum then... I would
loose my footing and fall. From the bottom all I could see were the
people that I started the “race” with; they had already reached the top,
their goals and their dreams. The more I fell in life, the more I
wanted to give up. I would convince myself that my goal was not
important to me. I did this so I could feel like less of a failure on
the inside. I see now that that was my true low. Unable to truly self
soothe myself to the point of walking away from my obstacles I would try
again.
Me, Gaffing - 7 Jan 2011
Today
I finished gaffing. I got to the top of the pole, completed my tasks
while up there and came down. I slipped on the way down, but I didn't
fall. My key to success in gaffing was to stayed focused on my pole. I
stopped looking at it as a competition amongst others, but as an
accomplishment for myself. When I reached to top of the pole... I
didn't notice. My mind was so centralized on getting my foot in a
stable position that I did not know that I had made enough stable steps
to reach my destination. I have a couple more objectives to achieve.
But with gaffing I am officially done. LOL
P.S. I swear I lost 2lbs doing that crap. At least I feel like I did
Have you ever seen a commercial and then suddenly feel the urge to have a burger, buy a doohickey, or stretch your last dollar on a piece of “Oh I never needed that before”? Well it's okay, so have I. Just the other day I just had to have chicken just because a talking chicken wing said that she was juicy and delicious all by herself. Yum, Right? Well that's neither here nor there. I have a confession. A confession that may make some people upset, but it is my truth and I want to share it. Now in the spirit of “everyone is entitled to their own opinion”, I speak out.
I am a strong willed person, but every now then the power of media manipulation seeps into my psyche and makes me believe that their ideas are my own. For example, I have always appreciated female MCs, vulgarity and all. I was empowered by UNITY by the Queen. I jumped as RUFFNECK played on MTV. And I secretly played HOW MANY LICKS in my walkman, so my mother wouldn't know that Brooklyn had stolen my heart; sorry Mommy. All these lyricists brought their talent, their skill, and their since of self to the table and I obliged. As time went on more and more female rappers were introducing themselves to the world and more and more I became bored, until now. Now I have found myself extremely... interested by a particular plastic doll loving female.
At first I could not stand the degrading messages, the imaginary vocabulary and the references to our youth being plastic, as though they are empty headed pawns being played an over-sexed record. Weeks of silent protesting turned into months of outward debates. I could not understand how so many could scream for change and then succumb to regression. My heart ached with every woman and little girl that know identified herself as a Mattel product. Then it happened. The media and their shifty yet clever techniques grabbed hold of my conscience and squeezed it until it screamed “Uncle”. I was now following the cotton candy headed diva on twitter. How could this have happened? I had such strong convictions and now I just wanted to see which talk show host was going to smack her ass next.
People take lightly the influences that their radios, their televisions and their internet truly have. They push aside the ethics that they live their lives by, and submit to the voices in the boxes that say ,"It's all okay". So today as you demand the respect that you deserve; as you prove your intelligence over and over; as you sign the checks that pay someone's mortgage, ask yourself, am I being taken seriously? Is this the “Queen” that my mother hoped to raise? Or am I going to be dismissed as another mouthpiece with big ass?
Unfortunately I could not think of any
well known New Year's songs. :) So I'll just yell HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This is your New Year; your
time for change. I hope 2011 brings you all the joy, love, success,
and strength that your life can bear. Stay in the positive and don't
let anyone deter you from what your heart desires (assuming that you
desire legal things). So if this year gets too tough and you feel as
though you need a beautiful distraction, find me. I'll be here for
YOU. Happy 2011!
