Reflections on Family

I have had a fun filled two weeks with my nieces and nephews,  but I can honestly say they have worn me out ! LOL I try to make their trips to Houston full of activities and to be honest sometimes I may overdo it, but I just feel like I am missing out on so much of their development since we don't live close, so I really concentrate on "making memories" and they seem to enjoy it. This is the same crew that comes for Spring Break each year. I only have one sister (my biological father does have other kids but I didn't grow up with them and don't know them very well). We grew up close with our cousins, because our mothers were extremely close. My sister has 3 kids and two of my cousins send their daughters too, so I end up having six kids ranging in ages of 3 to 16. Now I can say the oldest one, my cousins daughter is a great help, without her assistance with washing and combing heads,  fixing plates, I don't know if I could make it some days. My sister's oldest Savannah who is almost 10 is also a huge help especially with her 3yr old brother, plus she is a bit of a busy body, and wants to be involved in everything, which sometimes works in my favor when I need her ! LOL

My family arrived the day after my birthday to bring the kids to Houston, and  all the parents stayed over the weekend before heading back home. It was so funny, my cousins 5 yr old Alexandra, must have thought her parents were just going to drop her off and keep it moving cause we were having breakfast on Saturday and she looked at her dad and said "so when are y'all leaving ?"  LMAO we cracked up, and her dad said, "why do you ask ?" and she said, " I was just wondering cause I'm on vacation !" LOL We were dying laughing ! 

For the most part, I let them get away with a lot, staying up late, sleeping in, snacking just being kids, but they are at the age where all of their personalities are becoming so developed and there are some conflicts that arise, some arguing, etc. which I know is just natural kids stuff. It's funny to listen to them when they think no one is paying attention. Listening to how they resolve conflict, how they brag, even tell tall tales trying to impress one another, and even how they try to manipulate me like I don't see them coming a mile away ! LOL

It rained quite a bit over these past weeks, so a lot of the outdoor activities I planned got rained out, like Kemah Boardwalk (ooh their feelings were hurt !), but we did get to go the Aquarium Downtown and Itz for Olivia's 8th Birthday as well as roller skating and painting and a couple of movies. We had to move it indoors for the most part but still managed to have some fun. 

Now I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating. Every time these children come here, turn my life upside down and then leave me to myself, I have a renewed respect for the daily time, attention, work,  and commitment to nurturing that full time mother's put in day after day. I mean mad respect. As a single person who lives alone with only me to be responsible for on a daily basis, I can easily see what an full-time... or I should say overtime job motherhood is in a very real way. Not to mention the emotional aspect of being a constant encourager, answering the craziest questions, having to discipline, etc. Then, getting those kids dressed for church on Sunday after cooking breakfast and combing hair was enough to have me spent and as soon as service was over, it was time to feed them yet again. ! Ooh wee.

One of the things that definitely adds to my work load is the swimming. I am definitely a water baby. Me and my sister both have been swimming since were were 7 & 8. I love the fact that these kids love the water and are not afraid of it at all just like us. The younger ones see that the older ones can swim and want to keep up with them so they are doing their best to learn too. The only thing is all these kids have lots of hair, and you have to take great care to insure that the chlorine gets out.  So some days when I just did not have it in me to do the full on  hair production yet again, I had to say no, but most days I would just suck it up, because I can vividly remember and still know of the joy that swimming brings ! We have a community pool in my Subdivision a few blocks away, but last summer, the crew managed to charm my neighbor across the street who has a huge two story house with a pool and jacuzzi in the back. She invited them last year to come over any time and again this year when she saw they had arrived, gave us the same open invitation, which we accepted several times these past two weeks.  Since we are traveling tomorrow, while we were out today, I let them  get her a gift card and a thank you card. They were so excited to get back home, write their own personal messages in the card and run it over to her house ! LOL

So tomorrow is the final day. I have been washing and packing all evening, getting the snacks for the road trip ready, and preparing myself for the long ride. Although, I will have help with that. Mr. Mixologist will be driving us back tomorrow. He has been a big help as well, even took them to Imaginations to paint while I went to the Salon to get my hair done and a pedicure ! Huge points. He grilled for us last week and also treated us to a movie and these kids are working their way into his heart ! LOL.  When he wasn't around they were asking about him.... his status.... his ETA ! LOL .  Mr. Mixologist  did make my birthday special, he cooked dinner for me, gave a beautiful card, and did not disappoint when he presented me with great seats to this Concert. When my family got here two weeks ago, we had a little belated happy hour for my birthday here at the house, and he worked really hard, serving up his famous libations to which they were much appreciative. So all in all my birthday was great ! 

**ahem**

Yes, Mr. Mixologist is going home to meet the family :) I am a little excited, yet nervous. Don't really know why, but feel silly that it matters so much. Hope it goes well.... I know that it's going to be OK,  but I am still anxious. I guess since it has been along time since any body mattered this much, I just want it to go well... on both ends. I don't want to put too much pressure on the situation but truthfully, when you live far away, usually you only bring  significant people around your folks. Maybe in some small way, I am worried that taking this step too soon might jinx it & then as soon as I say it, that sounds silly LOL, but I am being honest. My parents & aunts,uncle and other cousins are anxious to meet him and I guess just curious, and very excited that things are working well for us, so they want to get a look at him! LOL My cousins gave good reports from two weeks ago. Best believe I heard about that. So anyway wish me luck. I am sure that I am anxious for nothing.

How has your summer been ?

Created any special memories ?

Comments or Observations ?

Beautifully Complex

Birthday Edition - Just Me.......... Randomly

Happy Birthday to me....... Happy Birthday to me !

So thankful to be blessed to see another year and this one went by very fast. I am seriously understanding the meaning of enjoying life every. single. day. because this time is not waiting... at all. LOL



I am appreciating simple things more and more it seems. I don't know if its age, maturity, wisdom or a combination of all three but I am enjoying the fullness of my life and every experience that each day brings.



I am learning the art of saying no...without the guilt. I am a reformed "people pleaser" and I used to allow it to stress me out. I say "used to" like it has changed totally LOL ! The truth is, it is still hard for me occasionally, but I am definitely getting better. I used to want to commit to everything and everybody, but I am learning to accept that I can't do everything. Conflicts arise some out of your control. I recently missed my line sisters baby shower which would have required traveling quite a distance. I really did want to see her and everyone there. I just couldn't make it happen and I am OK with it. On to the next one.



Just got back from NOLA last week. I attended my 12th Essence Festival ! I have to admit it took me about 3 days to recover no joke. Now on the way home I can honestly say I was really beginning to feel my age for the first time. I used to bounce back much faster. Either way I can't imagine going anywhere else for the 4th of July it just wouldn't seem right. I appreciate the way that Essence tweaks things a bit every year so that it's what you expect, yet still different. Now for the record, I definitely missed Frankie Beverly and Maze and cry foul on the decision to remove them from the lineup this year. Not that Earth Wind & Fire isn't a good band, because they most definitely are, but I just feel like Frankie & Maze are just staples of the Essence experience & they should not have messed with that tradition. But they didn't consult with me. LOL



Saw my favorites of course, Lalah Hathaway, Ledisi, Mint Condition, Joe to name a few. I looooooove the Superlounges so much better than the main stage. It seems the Artists that I like the best are always there. I love the intimate setting & the fact that I can make eye contact with the Artists & get right up close to the stage. I follow Lalah & Ledisi on twitter so that was pretty cool to keep up with them while being in such close proximity.



On the relationship front.....things are going wonderfully ! We have made it to the six month mark just this week and we BOTH are pretty proud of that fact and still excited about it. I am still smiling everyday and feeling blessed to have found someone that accepts me as I am. Also, I think I am going to give my honey (formerly known as Eastcoast) a new blog name, Mr. Mixologist for a couple of reasons. First and foremost because of his talents with creative libations. He prepared some Lemon Drop Martini's for me and my girls to take with us to NOLA and baby, we were feeling it as soon as we got settled in our rooms and broke into that cooler ! He also makes a mean Cosmo and a Mojito that will make you think you are down in Cuba ! Secondly, because he is a hilarious jokester, that keeps me on my toes daily. He is always teasing me and makes me laugh at myself all the time. We have all these inside jokes now, where he or I can say one word, that reminds us of something that we were laughing at last week and we are dying laughing again ! I really like that about him.



This year my birthday is pretty low key since I had the big 3 day Extravaganza last year. However, I do have some family coming in this weekend that will be meeting Mr. Mixologist for the first time. I am both excited and nervous about that. There is one person in particular that I really want him to click with, but I want it to happen naturally. Mr. Mixologist plans to take him to his Cigar spot & just might get him some extra points.



My nieces and nephew will be here soon, to wear me out for a couple of weeks before they head back to school. I am sure to have some blog fodder during their visit, so hopefully I can get into a habit of posting more timely.



Lately, I have been doing more listening and asking more questions and being quiet so I can hear HIM. I am definitely being more reflective these days and being open to receive what is for me. I am learning to accept some things in a real way. This has led me to experience a level of contentment that I haven't felt in a while. It feels good.



Be Blessed !


Beautifully Complex

M. I. A.

It has been more than a minute since I posted on my poor little blog here. I have been reading my favorites and commenting where I can, but just have not found the time. Admittedly, I am caught up in this new relationship and enjoying it tremendously and that has been a huge factor and major distraction. I am on Twitter too, even though I can't always comment a lot because I spend the majority of time behind the wheel of a car while working and can't always tweet, that has kept me from blogging too. But even beyond the blog, I have been MIA in many areas of my life, so caught up in the "new new" (TIH 2009) with this man known here as Eastcoast :) Things are going so well, I think I want to give him a different, more appropriate blog name at some point, but I need to think on it. Any ideas or suggestions ?

Spring Break with my nieces and nephew was wonderful. We crammed so many activities into that week, that I had to call my boss late that week to ask for Monday off just to recover ! We took the kids horseback riding, painted ceramics, did some baking and cooking,  went to Galveston Beach, swimming at a waterpark & hosted a back to school cookout at the house for them and some of my friends kids that live here. Eastcoast was a huge help to me that week, even taking vacation for 3 days to help out. Though he has no children of his own, he is wonderful with kids, extremely patient and very attentive. My nieces ate him up ! LOL.  He helped me with lifeguard duty, help me break up squabbles, he barbecued, and even drove the whole way back to meet their parents for the drop off Sunday.  One of my friends jokingly said, he needs to stop "showing off" LOL ! He also got a chance to meet my sister and BIL, who in turn gave a good report to my parents and some other family members who have been super curious about him, because things are going well for us so far. Neither of us have family in Houston, so it has just been the two of us getting to know one another, so far it has been wonderful. 

We celebrated his birthday a couple of weeks ago along with some of my close friends.  We surprised the Birthday boy and went to Monnalisa a lounge at Hotel Sorella and had a wonderful time. We all started off drinking Martini's but later in the evening the female bartender sold me on their signature drink she had created called the Monnalisa that had some rasberry infused Vodka with some fresh rasberries too, and it was soooo awesome ! I partied like it was my birthday ! We later moved  outside onto the patio where they have some beautiful gazebo's on the edge of the pool and they have LED lights in the pool that change colors. I love hanging out in City Centre and great time was had by all. 

The next day we celebrated solo. I surprised him with a trip to the Day Spa for a couples massage, which he had never experienced before. It was hilarious to see him out of his "comfort zone". He had no idea what we were going to do that day, but he rolled with it and was a good sport about it. He thoroughly enjoyed himself  & actually snored a time or two on the table. Me and both of the masseuses were laughing at that ! Later, we went to see Tyler's new movie and that night for dinner I chose his favorite, Japanese. We went to a new place that has great Sushi and ended up with this hilarious black Hibachi chef who should quit his day job and become a comedian for real. He was so funny ! He really took a liking to Eastcoast & by the end of the night, the chef who had a couple of his friends at the restaurant, bought us all some Sake shots to celebrate. He loved the birthday gifts I selected and was very appreciative of everything. He is not big on birthday's and I really am, so I just had to try to indoctrinate him ! LOL He shared with me the next day that it was the best birthday he's had in a very long time. I really enjoyed making him feel special, because he makes me feel special every day. 

That's enough gushing for the day, I am sure, but happiness is hard to contain sometimes :)

I am gonna do my best to post at least weekly, starting today.

Beautifully Complex

Open and Closed

All this "Open Marriage" nonsense has gotten the best of me ! What a stupid oxymoron. Marriage is a covenant, which is closed, not open. It is a holy covenant between a man a woman, and their God for a lifetime. Simple as that. It kills me when we start trying to create the things that we want and call it something it's not. Plain and simple, relationships outside of marriage while married is adultery, just like sex before marriage is fornication. So when you are married and give your spouse an open invitation to commit adultery, just call it what it is, a "sham". So it seems, the counterpoint to this is all of the cheating that goes on in marriages, that is being kept "secret" and the idea is that if you are "open" then you can have outside relations as long as you are honest about it. Seriously ? That makes it OK ?

If you have never experienced adultery inside of a marriage, I don't know if you can ever be prepared for how it truly affects you. Especially if cheating, or the suspicion of it, is not something that you ever encountered when dealing with your spouse even before marriage. I really don't see how knowing about it in advance could really minimize how it makes you feel, how it can destroy you. There are all of these ideas floating around the internet & in discussions with folks about monogamy and why it is not realistic, etc. I guess my point is, if you can't be monogamous, then why get married at all ? I fail to understand why folks can't just stay in their lane. Why don't all the people who believe that we are not meant to be monogamous deal with those who feel the same way, and leave marriage for those who truly believe in the Covenant and stop making a mockery of it. I mean why not just "shack up" as the old folks used to say. Whats wrong with just having an " open relationship" ? I just don't get it.

Interestingly enough, when my ex-husband cheated, I actually was willing to try to work through it. Trust me, no one was more surprised about that than me. Before we got married, when we talked about cheating, adultery, etc. I was always the one who insisted it was a deal breaker & was convinced I could not get over it. However when confronted with the reality, I found that I felt totally different. I did not want to lose my husband, my marriage, or my life as it was. In hindsight, I think I was more afraid of the loss of our relationship and friendship after such a betrayal, and I did fear divorce and how it would totally change my life (it did), but what I didn't initially understand was how much was actually already lost by the time he decided to step out. The simple fact is, some things you lose cannot be recovered, ever. It didn't matter in my case, because in his mind, he was already gone once he made that choice, he did not want to reconcile, so ultimately we divorced. The truth is, I will never really know if I could have gotten over it or not, or whether we could have ever had a positive relationship. It may have been impossible.

I have a couple friends and some close family members whose marriages have actually survived adultery. I can honestly admit that I have been envious of the fact that some of those marriages survived, because they have not lost all of the things that I had to lose and have not had to go through the life rebuilding and many transitions that I have. I am not proud of my envy. But truthfully, not all of these marriages that have survived are to be envied, because upon closer inspection, I see what has been lost. There is one marriage that I can honestly say IS better for it, but I still don't know if I believe that the trust can ever be recovered, or that you can have anything close to what you had before such a betrayal, especially when the woman has cheated.

I have begun to consider for real whether or not you can really continue to have the type of intimacy that I crave in a relationship, when you know the other party has cheated, permission granted or not, and I just can't see it. But I understand that everyone's expectations are different. Since the only legitimate grounds for divorce in the bible is adultery, I think God understood exactly what he was doing. I am dating a new guy, EastCoast, we talk about everything that we both have experienced, the good and the bad, in past relationships. He is 39 never been married, but has several close friends that are married some happily and some not. We talk about many things as it pertains to relationships and marriage. He is adamant that cheating for him is a deal breaker. I initially tried to explain to him that sometimes you may not be prepared for how you feel in a situation & there are many things to weigh and consider. I only expressed this to him because I remember I was as adamant as he is about this issue BEFORE I was married & ended up feeling totally different when presented with the situation. Also, I personally know a MAN who was willing to forgive his WIFE for cheating, and I know how unusual that is. But I will say this, I am leaning towards my original position before I got married the first time, that adultery is a deal breaker. I am thinking that my first mind was right. I do believe there should be some lines that you do not cross. People are always so bent on looking for the exception, the short cut, the get around, but truly what is wrong with having a standard, some integrity ? I think we should open our minds to what the true intent of the marriage covenant is, instead of looking for the way around it.

And as NeNe from RHOA told Kim " Close your legs to Married Men" LMAO!

Do you believe in monogamy ?

Does it seem that cheating these days has become common ?

What are your thoughts on "open marriages" ?

Do you think that trust can ever be retrieved after adultery ?

Beautifully Complex

Excited About the Possibilites

Please excuse me while I try not to gush ! LOL This year has gotten off to a great start. I have been super busy at work over the last several months and though I had been complaining a bit about it, last week I did have my annual review and I must say I was more than pleased that my manager seems to really appreciate my contributions. She has shown me in so many ways that she is cutting for me big time and I count that as a blessing. In this economy, in this recession that is touching everyone, even in my close circle with its effects, I know whom to give the praise.

This weather has done a number on my "Getting it in, in 2010" fitness plan, since it has been colder than usual here, its been hard for me to stay motivated to get out and run like I need to. Despite that, I have been focusing consistently on some changes to my diet and have actually seen some results. The pounds are coming off slowly, but they are still coming. I plan to give up bread for Lent, which is something that I loooove, that is hard for me to not have, but I know that is going to give me a extra boost too along with the exercise when I start getting to it regularly. I have signed up for a 5K at the end of March and thanks to fellow blogger SingLikeSassy I plan to get it done.

I am getting ready for my nieces and nephew's annual Spring Break Retreat to Texas. I have been busy doing my research and planning our activities and outings, making my grocery list, and such to ensure that we have a grand time as we always do. When they come, everything and everybody else is put on hold, and my world turns upside down completely, they run me ragged, we have a blast, we all cry when they leave (or at least me and Savannah do ! LOL), and it takes me at least 3-4 days to physically recover ! LOL But it is so worth it. This year, my cousins are sending their daughters along too, so I will have a full plate of little ones. I have a hard time keeping up with FB, twitter, and blogging now, so I know its going to be crazy when they get here next month.

And lastly, but definitely not the least, I have managed to wake up, turn a corner and encounter one of the most amazing men that I have met in a very long time. It has been only a short time, but the intensity and the level of interest and compatibility is there on all fronts and I am honestly excited and very optimistic. We met just after the beginning of January, I was at a birthday party for a friend, and me and my BFF decided to ride along with him to go pick up some Cigars for the guys at the party, and this new guy who will be known as East Coast was sitting in the Cigar Bar with a group of guys. He was in the corner wearing a hat and he noticed me first. I never even saw him because I was inside the humidor intently trying to learn something about Cigars. Fast forward to our first date at Starbu.cks that lasted 3 hours. The second date we left a jazz club to go to a different Starbu.cks for another 2 hour conversation, on the third date, we saw "The Bo.ok of E.li" and went to Starbu.cks for another 3 hours of great conversation.

We have gotten off to a great start and things are developing very nicely. He is so considerate, very interesting, extremely funny, meaning I am laughing every single day ! LOL He is highly intelligent, and a Christian. He treats me with so much respect and he expresses himself with no problem. He is very giving and a great listener and observer. He is extremely close with his family, even though they don't live here in Texas. We share so many of the same interests, that last night while we are all hanging out, my BFF asked me right in front of him " WTH, did you go to Build-a-Bear or something ! LOL" We were all laid out laughing at her comment. The chemistry and attraction is off the charts and most importantly he is being very consistent with me. All of this to say, that I am very open and happy to feel excited about the possibilities. He knows my whole backstory and I know his. He tells me, that it is amazing to him that I am not bitter. I am thankful that he sees me that way, because I know for sure there are some remnants there, but I feel blessed that HE has healed me in many many ways. I want to be "emotionally available" to receive what is for me, when it's for me. In the mean time, I have figured out that true love can only find its way through an OPEN heart.

To all my readers and lurkers,

Happy Valentines Day !

Any special plans ? How do you like to celebrate ? Other thoughts/comments ?

What are you excited about?

Beautifully Complex

Marvels of the Internet

I must confess, sometimes the internet is my pacifier. It's amazing how many mind numbing hours I can spend and not realize how much time has actually passed. So many people talk about how the internet has caused us to become disconnected and I can concede that point to a degree but in many ways, the internet has allowed me to be connected to so many more people in more intimate ways than I could ever have imagined.

Honestly, there are many times when I use the internet to help me deal with boredom, loneliness, frustration, and especially insomnia. I don't know if I can say it really helps me or not, but it definitely serves as a serious distraction and makes it more palatable some days.

Today I am going to share some of the more interesting sites I have run across either just doing random searches or found on some of my favorite blogs. I have these bookmarked to occasionally peruse depending on my mood. These provide me hours upon hours of mindless entertainment, laughs, amazement, shock and awe. Sometimes I even learn something ! LOL Hope you enjoy.


MY UNTOLD SECRETS

This is an anonymous site where people can post things that they may have not have ever confessed to anyone. These can be thoughts or opinions about situations or actual confessions of things that people have actually done. It can range from, " I have the password to my ex-girlfriends email and still check it since we broke up 3 years ago just so I can keep up with what's going on in her life " to something like " I took someone's life by striking them with a car and leaving the scene. I'm such a coward, its been 15 years & it still haunts me. Lord help me. " After reading numerous posts, I realize that some of them are probably not true, but honestly after reading many more, I am inclined to think that the majority are true. The human condition is very fascinating. It's kind of interesting the things that people need to express even if anonymously, I guess as some kind of catharsis. I can actually see myself getting some blog fodder from some of the stuff I have read on there. The pictures and images that the site owner adds to the confessions makes this site a little more compelling as well.


EBONY MAGAZINE ONLINE FROM THE BEGINNING

This is a really cool link. You can read actual original copies of Ebony Magazine from 1959 through 2000. I mean they have every page from cover to cover including all of the advertisements scanned for every month, and this is some very interesting reading ! I probably didn't actually start reading Ebony until I was about 10 years old, so since I have access from ten years prior to my birth, there is at least 20 years of stuff for me to catch up on. There is lots of stuff I had even forgotten I knew in the many pages of this historical magazine. I might actually print some of this stuff off to teach my nieces about African-American culture and history, when they come to visit on their school breaks. You know how they always do the profiles on professional careers in the front of the magazine ? (I can still remember when I was a kid, wanting to grow up and be successful enough to be featured in the magazine just like every other little black child I am sure.) One of the things that I do now is when reading one of these old profiles if somebody interests me, I Goo.gle them now to see whatever happened to them.


YOU KNOW YOU DEAD AZZ WRONG

This is a guilty pleasure of mine, but I have to admit to it ! LOL I am a serious lurker on this site at least weekly, but I NEVER comment. That's really only because there is a group of people who comment on the regular & they have it on lock. They are hilarious & sometimes what they have to say can sometimes be more entertaining than the photos ! People need to understand that the internet is forever and be careful about who you release your images to. The site owner is off the chain too. She posts actual emails from people who write in threatening "legal action" to have their photos taken down from the site, and she clowns them on the regular and REFUSES to take the pics down. Evidently it's usually their "friends" that send the pics in ! LOL It is amazing how proud & unashamed so many people can be, posing like they are doing it when they are looking crazy as H@$% ! LOL I mean sometimes all I can do is SMH and say "my people, my people". After about 30 minutes or so of this site I find myself wondering if the internet really is the devil ?

There you have it folks, some of my favorite time fillers. As you can see they run the gamut from "sick and twisted" to "culturally enlightening" to "hilariously shameful". Please don't judge me ! LOL Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Check them out and them come back over here & tell me what you think.

Does the internet help you to escape or relieve stress ? Is it just entertainment ?

Do you have any interesting links or sites that you enjoy or would recommend ?

Thanks in advance !

Beautifully Complex

Just Me..........Randomly

Greetings Blog family ! Hope your 2010 is off to a wonderful start. Other than the record breaking cold temperatures in Houston over that last couple of weeks making me have to dust off my winter coat that I usually never use here, it has been great.

Got a chance to check out a new wine spot last week. Max's Wine Dive. The wine was great and the food looked really good, but I had already eaten so I didn't get a chance to sample. My group was standing at the end of the bar, near the entrance to the kitchen, so I could see the constant parade of food headed to the tables. I exercised some major discipline and didn't order anything and also limited my wine intake for the evening. The ambiance and the crowd were cool to so I most definitely will be back.

Happy Founder's Day to my beautiful, intelligent, and talented Sorors of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. I was looking through some pledge pictures of me and my line sisters last night and cannot believe how unbelievably skinny I was in college. I would not want to be that skinny again..... but dropping 15-20 lbs. would be good for this year ! LOL

I have a friend who is from Haiti who I actually met online several years ago. Please pray for his family during this challenging time. I spoke with him by phone yesterday and he seems OK but I could not imagine how to deal with so much uncertainty. It seems that financial donations are the best means of helping at the moment.

Tomorrow morning is the Houston Marathon, wish I had stayed committed, like I planned and I wouldn't be talking about dropping lbs :( ! I was looking over my finisher medals from the 4 Half-Marathons that I have completed & had really wanted to be able to run the full by the time I was 40, but my knees have just said no way. I am going to watch it on TV in the morning and then get on the bike for ride. The good thing is that one of my friends has signed me up for another 20 mile bike ride in March and a couple of road races ( 5K & 10K) so I am trying to get prepared & motivated to meet some fitness goals.

Speaking of, so far this year I have been focused on cooking and eating out less. I was doing pretty good the first 10 days or so, but then worked kicked in hard the second week and I have been putting in some very long hours & it's just so convenient to grab something when you are tired. Sometimes meal planning seems like work and I procrastinate & then end up just back to the same. I will try again this weekend to do my shopping and planning & just be better.

I have been getting some of the funniest emails from internet dating sites that I subscribe to.
I think I may save some of them for blog fodder as opposed to deleting them like I usually do.
I haven't really been actively searching but just read the messages that I get a couple times a week. It's funny, since that little age box clicked over to 40 on my profile, all the the 55+ think they have a shot ! LOL


My plans for the lovely weekend include girls night tonight, grocery shopping, meal planning and my date with Denzel Washington on Saturday ! LOL ,then Sunday, watch a bit of the Marathon on TV, put some miles on the bike, head to church, cook dinner & chill. Monday is MLK Day, so weather permitting I will be at the parade. Well, I am headed out to run some errands and get dressed to head to Sullivan's for some fun time with some great friends ?


What's going on random with you ?