The Typical New Year Post

I give thanks to my Creator for yet another 365 days gone by on the American calendar! I guess I don't give thanks for another year until my bornday. And that is coming up in less than a month.

I give thanks for relatively good health, beautiful family, supporting friends, sisterhood, loving relationships and so much more.

I've been coming back and forth getting ready to post and changing my mind because I've had so many things on my mind. I figured I needed to find a time when I just have the energy and a clear mind to just type it all out. A few moments ago I figured, WTH, just DO IT! And here I am. Well enough of the excuses. Time to get down and dirty.

Goals for 2008
1. Make this life a healthy one, on purpose: A specific part of this goal is to absolutely lose at LEAST 10lbs by the end of the year. See now that seems SOOO easy, right? I mean I got 365 days to do it. You'd think I could drop less than one pound a month easy? Well I'm sure I could if I tried. But I really didn't for most of last year. 2008 it will happen and you wanna know why I'm so sure? Well lemme tell ya! First my Kingman and I plan on having a heavy bag by the end of January. Period. Actually I plan on having it in the next 2 weeks. lol. I'm so serious.

Having this piece of equipment will allow me to get an intense cardio workout as well as strengthen my CORE. BAM! I also plan on getting my yoga "stuff" shortly afterwards. We went up to take a look at the attic again. It's cold outside and therefore cold in the attic. So we'll buy a space heater to have on ONLY when we are up there working out. We have the area picked out for the heavy bag and a separate area for the yoga and stretching. Finally there is a third area that may later host the future weight bench.

2. Take a first time home buyer course. This is one of the many steps I'm taking toward owning a home. But I've put off this task for much too long. There is nothing stopping me from doing it. It will only cost me a lil bit of time.

3. Incorporate daily meditation time. Key word is DAILY.

4. Spend more productive time with my Lil Prince. This will come into play more in the summer and on weekends. Now it's a bit easy to get that productive time in because after I pick him up we come home, help with homework, read some books and sometimes get a board game in. In the summer I want us out of the house more going to the park and library like we use to.

5. Find more ways to express my love and appreciation to my Kingman. I've struggled with this since I met him. I have deep rooted issues that sometimes hinder me from expressing deep emotions to people. And for me, it's especially important that my mate know how deeply I care for him and love him. I hate that sometimes he has to wonder how I'm feeling. So, I'm not totally sure yet how I'll do this, but I will.

6. Create, create, create! Nuff said.

7. Get out of Minnesota for at LEAST 3 straight days. We've been saving and paying off stuff so much we have hardly thought about taking a lil vacation somewhere. I'm totally content with a simple road trip somewhere a few days. My Kingman and i always love Chicago and may revisit again. Very soon, I hope.

Sneaky Peek

Just a picture of my finished arm warmers and the start of my matching panta. It's not knit, but sure does look like it! It's crochet and I'm very excited about finishing the set. More pictures an details to come later.

Bless!

Something is Fishy

I've started crocheting wrist warmers to go with my fly pea coat. A few weeks back I scored a trench style pea coat from the thrift store in a royal purple. I love the fit of it. It is thick enough to warm me up during the Minnesota winters, and sophisticated enough for me to wear to work regularly. I love that it's long since I like to wear skirts and boots in the winter to work. The greatest part was that the coat only cost me $7!!! So the catch is that the sleeves are a few inches too short. BOOOO HISSSSS! Not defeated, I decided that I would just buy the coat and crochet myself some lovely wrist warmers to wear under the coat. It took me a couple of weeks to figure out what type of stitch pattern I wanted. But I have that down and I've started. Sorry, no sneak peeks just yet. Hopefully I can snap a couple with my cam phone tomorrow.

Earlier this week I went ahead and made my version of the Tilapia with Spicy Mango Salsa. I improvised a LOT. So I will just say my dish was inspired by the recipe. A few of the modification I made were as follows:
*I used plantains instead of bananas
*I used organic tomato basil broth and veggie broth in the black beans for a different flavor spin. I also would like to point out that adding tomatoes or tomato soups to bean dishes is the biz! I learned that trick a few years ago. And whenever I make my pinto beans in the slow cooker I try to add that ingredient.
*Organic brown rice was used, instead of yellow rice.
*I used a pineapple blend juice (100% juice not from concentrate) instead of lime juice in the mango salsa. I was so sure I had bought some a few days ago but was wrong. And I didn't want to go ALL the way back for lime juice I hardly use.
*I seasoned my tilapia almost totally different. But I stuck with rubbing paprika into the fish. This is something I will incorporate into fish dishes in the future since it added a flavor we haven't tasted before.


My interpretation of the dish was very delish. Um.. jeepers, that rhymed. lol. My lil Prince and my Kingman enjoyed the meal. And I'm not just saying that. Take a look for yourself! I will definitely make this dish again. Maybe one day the same as the recipe. lol.

I TOLD YOU!

Well I made the corn soup last night. Very yummy. My lil Prince ate most of his. The last time I made this dish I added the amount of cilantro called for in the recipe. Well, it was a bit much for the child. He told me, "mama, the soup was ok except all the green things in there". So this time around, less cilantro. Other modifications I made were to reduce the amount of cheese used by half a cup. And I increased the amount of vegetable broth by half a cup as well. As I did on the first go round, I left out the flour and sour cream. I added a little bit more of the black beans since my family likes them. Finally, I added curry powder to the mix. If you didn't know, curry is good on almost EVERYTHING. I was so proud of how the dish looked. And I snapped a quick picture before digging in. Those are white corn tortilla chips with a hint of lime. I wanted flour tortillas with a hint of lime. But my Kingman could not find them at the store.

Today for lunch I had leftovers. I'm telling you, that soup is even better reheated! Tonight's dinner will be simple. I'm not sure WHAT yet. But I'm so tired that I don't want to put too much effort or time into dinner.

In hair news, I'm rocking a twist out from large twists I put in my hair Sunday night. What I ended up doing was rinsing out the honey and olive oil mixture. Then I proceeded to shampoo my hair with Aveda Mauve something or other to try and make the black color that is growing out pop more. Note to self, that shampoo cleanse just fine, but does nothing for the black hair color. I used my cheap suave conditioner. I believe it was Honey and Coconut scented. I put loads of conditioner in my hair then proceeded to de-tangle using a wide tooth comb and my fingers. I concentrated on getting shed hair out of my head. The reason for this is because it tends to gather at the tips of my hair in balls and knots. It makes de-tangling more of a hassle than it needs to be. But that is what happens when I go weeks without de-tangling while still rinsing and washing daily.

As I de-tangled sections of my hair I put fat twists in my head. I ended up with about 20 fat twists. I rinsed out the conditioner with the twists still in place. I used a t-shirt to blot my hair dry of excess water. I grabbed my container of Ginger Juices and Berries hair pomade (http://www.lavidagivenbynature.com/) and used that to (gasp!) oil my scalp. Ok people I have not done that in at LEAST 10 years. Maybe even more. But lately I've noticed I have a dry scalp problem and something needed to be done. I can't continue to wet my hair EVERYDAY in this cold weather and expect my scalp not to suffer. The air is so dry at home and the office so I had to do something t combat winter dryness. So I used the pomade to oil my scalp and moisturize my hair.

Wait, I take that back.... The hair pomade is oil based. So the oil doesn't really MOISTURIZE, but it does help lock in moisture that is there. After the shampoo, conditioner and water the oil pomade helped to keep that moisture in my hair. I used very small amounts on may scalp and each twisted section. As I took down and oiled each fat twist, I split them into 2 to 4 smaller twists. These twists were still rather large. I think I ended up with about 50 total twists when all was said and done.

I wrapped my hair in a satin scarf and went to bed. The next morning I unravelled each twist, then separated each unravelled twist with my fingers. This process was easy and quick. My hair, even now, is very soft and light. I have a fluffy black cloud on top of my head. I plan to wear this twist out all week and hopefully put some flat twists in this weekend and wear head wraps until Monday. This is a picture of what my hair basically looks like today. I've wanted to achieve this style every since I cut off my locs months ago. Now I need a new goal to reach for.

Big afro, here I come!

I give thanks to my Creator for another day. Bless up!

Eaterie

I took a couple (literally) of pictures of food I prepared in the last week. They are camera phone pictures, so if they aren't very clear you can buy me a digital camera. *wink*

The first is a picture of salmon croquets with salad and fettuccine afredo. This was a hit for the whole family. I tell my lil Prince that the salmon is Crabby Patties a la Spongebob Squarepants. The funny thing is, he knows there isn't any crab meat in it. He knows the difference in taste between salmon and crab meat. But he goes based off of the appearance. He still insists it's not a REAL crabby patty because there isn't a bun, tomato, lettuce and pickle. The salad has sunflower seeds and a poppyseed dressing that's really tastey! It's a combo of prepackaged mixed baby greens and some baby spinach.

Next is a photo of baked tilapia, jasmine rice, sweet corn and broccoli. This was also a hit. I'm so glad my lil Prince loves his veggies. He won't eat a lot of meat, but he knows that eating his veggies makes him strong and healthy.

For the next week, I've bought ingredients for this Fresh Corn Soup recipe, and this Tilapia with Spicey Mango Salsa. Yes, my family loves tilapia. You can do so much with it. And this is a fish that absorbs the flavor of herbs and spices so well.

I've gotten so much cleaning and organizing done this weekend. Yet there is so much more to do! Our new couch is set to arrive on Tuesday and we committed ourselves to clearing and unpacking ALL the boxes. My Kingman has done ALL of that work so far. What's left is clothes that either need to be donated, trashed, or put away in the closets. I will make sure that gets done by tomorrow night! I will, I will. For now I must figure out what to do with my hair.

I initially planned on wearing protective styles like twists for the winter. Well I love my fro so much I was like "forget that man, i'm froing it out!" Well, not so much anymore. After exposing my crown to the cold, harsh air of Minnesota it's crying out. As I sit here my hair is soaking up olive oil, honey and a little water as a pre shampoo treatment. I have it covered with a plastic bag (hey, I like to recycle) and then a head wrap. I may just sleep with it like this. But what I SHOULD do is wash it, and then twist it up. Hmmmmm, it's getting pretty late. I fear I'll start twisting and never finish. And I don't want to show up at work half twisted up. lol. We'll see what happens.

Gluten and Maximus

Yes, the blog title has something to do with the post.

I’ve had an apple sitting at my desk all week. And there isn’t a good enough reason why I haven’t eaten it. I’ve been hungry sitting here at my desk. I’ve needed more fruit intake. It’s been right there in plain sight. Yet, I’ve snacked on chocolates to get my sweet tooth fix. When this perfectly formed and nutritious Fuji apple would have done the trick. My discipline is off once again. And I intend on getting it back in gear. For real, for real. I brought an apple for my lunch today even though I have the apple from earlier this week. I’ve already eaten one apple with my peanut butter and jam sandwich. This (old) apple will be my afternoon snack tomorrow. I will eat it and enjoy every sweet bite. It’s really all I need to curb my sweets craving. If that’s not enough I have a small bag of microwave kettle corn popcorn. MMMM! It’s better than a Twix! I suppose my concern right now is not calories. I already know I tend to get too few calories when I eliminate animal flesh. But I want the calories I get to be worth something. And I know the best way to maximize nutrients is to eat more than plenty fresh fruits and vegetables.

Still on the subject of food (I can go on for days about it), I’ve been reading about seitan (SAY-tahn). It’s a popular meat substitute that I’ve actually tasted before and enjoyed. I’m hoping my Kingman likes it as well and decides to stop cheating and eating meat here and there. Also I’m hoping my lil Prince will enjoy it in some meals. I haven’t figured out what will be fore dinner tonight. Something easy to prepare since I’m getting a bit tired. I’m sure the excess cheese I’ve been eating has something to do with that.

I’m looking forward to hosting dinner for a couple of the DIVAS. I plan to prepare my signature coconut ginger curry with shrimp. MMMM! I’m getting hungry just thinking of it. Already one of them has asked for a substitution with just veggies or chicken. I will likely just prepare chicken separate since my lil Prince is not a fan of the shrimp in that dish. OR maybe I’ll use seitan! That’s an idea. I wouldn’t even tell her I substituted. Mmmwaahahahaaha!!!

God, I know I have the discipline within me to make better choices. I want to show my gratitude to you by taking care of this body I’ve been blessed with.

I must confess

Blogger forgive me...

The peanutbutter cookies never came into existance this past week. That's ok because I was much better with resisting the treats at work. I gave in a couple of times though. Today, I'm doing good. No treats! I also slacked off on the push ups. I was doing so well!! I nibbled a really small piece of rosemary chicken that a friend made. I just wanted a lil taste.

The positive side of all of this is it's a new week. That means another chance to live right. Now I've been upping my meditation game. I bought my sage and it's hanging in the kitchen to dry out. At some point this eveing I'll burn my sage and say some prayers over the living space.

I cooked some delicious (vegan style) pinto beans in the slow cooker. That will be dinner tonight.

And my hair looks really fly. See I was going to do this whole bit where I keep my hair in "protective styles" for the cold months so I have a big full fro in the summer. But after taking the twists down from last week I realized I can't be doing all that. I wasn't feeling the look of those twists in the first place. And my fro has been calling me man! So I guess at this point I'm going to just fro it out for the most part and trim my ends as needed. I will do my best to wear a satin scarf to bed each night.

I've been moisturizing my scalp and hair with this delciious concoction a good friend of mine made. She calls it "Ginger Juices and Berries". It's a hair pomade that's solid but emulsifies in your hand. It smells devine and moisturies as it claims. You can check out her website at www.lavidagivenbynature.com . She's revamping the site, but if you send her an email she can hook you up! Tell her feeps sent ya!

At some point before I leave work today, I wan't to sort of put together a meal plan for the week so I can go to the grocery store in the next day or so. I also need to call the furniture place and confirm delivery of my new couch (screams with glee) for the end of this week.

My Kingman is such a hard worker. He's been dragging himself to work everyday to a place that he doesn't really like to help take care of this family. It's a blessing just to have him in my life.

Today I give thanks for a new oppurtunity to live better. I give thanks for forgiveness. And I give thanks for the blessings I have yet to recieve.