Within/Without

Peace… Okay. I know that maybe a year or so I was singing the praises of my facial routine. About how I have been using Noxzema and Ambi for years months and days and my skin is now glowing and has always been glowing…. I need to amend that. I’m aging. I accept that. I had a good run with the Noxzema/Ambi combo, but my skin has changed and I want to tell you what has become me at the tender age of Culture Cipher…. I began to notice near the beginning of the spring that my skin was looking a little dull. And my forehead was getting mad flaky. Unlike most of the people in my family, I have dry skin. That’s great because it means I won’t be getting very many zits but it does mean that I may fall victim to premature wrinkling. And by premature I mean premature for Black people. I changed my routine a bit. Sometime just using something different for a little while can boost the previous product performance. So I tried the spare products under the sink. That didn’t help. In fact my skin got ...

Peace from the Regular East! I have been a vegetarian for a decade. Sounds a lot harder than it was. I never thought I could give up meat, but my health was begging for it so I acquiesced. I had gotten to the point where I didn't require a meat substitute to have satisfaction. I may eat a veggie burger here and there if I was out and that's all there was. I really do like those riblets that I think garden burger makes. On a bun with some raw onions and you have a sandwich tastier than the McRib. But I don't need them to hold me down. This year the God and I finally began our cohabitation. It has been 6 months of bliss. One of many things that makes it so blissful is that he wanted to become a vegetarian. I was not planning to cook meat in my home... ever again. So it is nice for better homes and gardens that he wanted to make said change. And he has! One problem though..... He likes meat. Like I said... I don't have a problem with faux meat if it is legitimately veget...

There is a difference between eating my regular vegetarian food and eating more of a whole food diet. I have been incorporating more raw food in my routine. I have been making green smoothies for breakfast and having salads for lunch. I have not been completely raw, because I might eat dinner and I definitely eat a cooked mid meal of oatmeal and a boiled egg between breakfast and lunch. So I have been eating about 60% raw for the last 2 weeks. Let me tell you what I have noticed.... The more I eat closer to nature, the less I want to eat over all. That's interesting. I have read that pesticides and additives like high fructose corn syrup will shut off the mechanism that tells you when your full. And I think there is something to that. Eating the sattvic food is better for me. Who knew? I've not noticed the detox that I had during RTR. I have had some odd feelings in my belly, gas and nausea. But I'm not sure if it's detox. It might be. It doesn't hurt like other det...

Peace People, I was building with this dude who came into the office today. He and I have history. Not romantic, but platonic. Last year he was a vegetarian for 3 months. You have to start somewhere. But he is a single man and it was hard for him to maintain, being a single and working all the time. Now he is back on his meat grind complete with the swine. He asked me how I managed to maintain so long and I had to laugh. If all I was a vegetarian then maybe I could see me having difficulty. I thought I should blog about it. But then... Which blog to post it? The healthy blog? The righteous blog? The sewing blog? The socially responsible blog? All my blogs have different readers. So..... I'll hit y'all all up! This is Serenity.... At this present history or Koran. (1) I am a decade long vegetarian. I go in and out with veganism and raw food. I really don't think for me raw food is sustainable for long term consumption. I think it's better in the summer months than in the...

Peace I have noticed that while doing a challenge.... like the Raise the Rod challenge I did in May.... I always feel all strong, empowered and capable during and after. And when I allow myself to go back to my regular pattern, I always slip right back into my normal routines which puts me back in the same situation as I was before said challenge. I feel like a slug. Hmmmmm..... Does this mean I am learning nothing? Well, I am learning. But apparently I'm not learning to make a life long change. That small revelation will help in the future. I am sure there will be more challenges and situations that I can use the past information to draw on and become a better Serenity. I learned that I could lose weight while 100% without trying super hard. I also learned that I'm not the hungry type when I'm eating well (i.e. low on the processed food spectrum). Also, I sleep better, my skin looks better and I have energy. So clearly raw helps. BUT.... 100% raw makes me ditzy and keeps ...

Was Amazing!!!!!! Peace People! Let me tell you was has me, my taste-buds, and my God all geeked this morning... Sausage seitan!!!!!! Yesterday was an epic cooking day for me. I have collected all the groceries I needed for this week's cooking. And at the end of this coming week, there is a rally. and y'all know I like to make a "Big Mama" meal for Rally Sunday. I bought a lot of gluten at the co-op and had some extra. I thought, "Why not?" Here are the delectable little boogers, the corresponding recipe and the site. That's them after they came out of the water bath. This is them open. INGREDIENTS - 1/2 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained - 1 cup cold vegetable broth - 1 tablespoon olive oil - 2 tablespoons soy sauce - 2 cloves garlic, grated (with a microplane, or very finely minced) - 1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten - 1/4 cup nutritional yeast - 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes - 1 teaspoon sweet paprika - 1 teaspoon d...

Peace y'all. I never post any food pics. let's see how that goes.... You have to click on the image to see it correctly. This is my "Beef" seitan. There is no beef in it and it qualifies as vegan. It is NOT gluten free. It is highly gluteny. The largest ingredient is vital wheat gluten. You can use this the same way you do a roast beef. Actually I have made chicken seitan and seitan sausage. The God loves it dressed up like pepper steak. So much in fact, I have to make this every week. I am kind of tired of it, but that just drives me to new ways to use this. INGREDIENTS: * 1.5 c. vital wheat gluten * 1/4 c. nutritional yeast * 1 . salt * 2 t. paprika * 1/4 t. cinnamon * 1/4 t. cumin * 1-2 t. pepper * 1/8 t. cayenne pepper * 1/8 t. allspice (I skipped this) * 3/4 c. cold water * 4 T. tomato paste * 1 T. ketchup * 2 T. olive oil (I used canola because I was out of olive oil) * 2 T. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce ...

Peace Fam, I'm better. I am never sick sick for long. And If I do get long term, then it will require a hospital stay for me to get better. I probably ate something that didn't agree with me... like a HUGE hunk of German Chocolate cake. I recuperated all day yesterday. Which allowed me to think and build with the God.... I kinda want to go vegan. I can live without milk, cheese not so much and the taste of butter is divine. I know there are substitutes out there for these products, but I don't want to substiute with something that heavily reminds me of the thing I'm kicking to the curb. I don't want to use margarine in place of butter. I don't want soy milk in place of milk. And I don't want rice cheese in place of cheese. I want to be done with everything and thatis it. All of the replacements are HIGHLY processed making them dangerous in their own right. A poitn the God brought up was if we were to become vegan, and our bodies accepted it, we would be limi...

Peace I'm sick y'all. I don't know what going on. My stomach is sour, I have a headache (which I only get when my cycle is due), I'm nauseous and I have sincere heartburn. I look like warmed over death too. I'm not surprised I normally get sick this time of year. As healthy as I try to be, I get a sickness annually. This is not menstrual either. Aunt Flo ain't due for at nearly 2 weeks. Unfortunately, the God is not the best cook. I'm going to have to handle this on my own. He will feed himself though. Good. First things first.... I got some orange juice with some green powder. An influx of iron can't hurt along with some vitamin C. Secondly, Some faux chicken soup with LOTS of onions and garlic. Its a creamy broth based soup with sage, thyme and nutritional yeast. It really tastes like chicken. Add olive oil for savoriness and some egg noodles. Normally I like matzo ball soup from Manishevitz, but....... Anyway. This will work. Though I'm not tomor...

Peace Family. This woman came into the office today. She was a previous patient looking to make an appointment. Okay. That's cool. The last time she was in the office, say around 2 years ago, she was on some weird spirituality thing. I'm not judging. Alls I'm saying is, it didn't seem balanced. She was speaking on a lot of different topics that I have intimate knowledge of... The occult, Yoruban beliefs, Kemetic beliefs, Ayurveda, yoga and she had the nerve to sprinkle a little 5% on it too. 2 years ago she was surprised that I was as well versed as I was. I even pointed her to some independent sources where she could learn without the influence of her paid spiritual adviser. Clearly she did not take me up on the offer. Well today she was on the raw band wagon. Now y'all know, I know raw. I noticed that she was drinking a prepared green smoothie. I say prepared because she didn't prepare it. She bought it. She was nibbling on a raw bar that was also store bought...

Peace Family, Last month, I'd say nearly 6 weeks ago, I went to the farmer's market and purchased some produce. The reason I went to the farmer's market is because assumed that the food was of higher quality than grocery store food. That was a false assumption. I have noticed that when you shop for food at different places you get different qualities of food. One of my concerns is with genetically modified foods or GMO's. This food is not required to be labeled as a GMO. So you never know if your eating it or not. Since this food is designed to last longer than other produce in the store and resist pests in the field, I assume GMO's will food will have an inordinately shelf life. So I will occasionally get food and leave it on the counter to see how long it will last. I try to use a control group with garden food; but I can't always obtain garden controls. The interesting thing is, food will last a crazy amount of time from places like Wal-Mart, Kroger or the su...

Peace Folks! I was reading a blog by a 'fellow' sewist. I use the parenthases because her work is more proficient, prolific and higher quality than mine. She was saying that size doesn't matter to her because she makes all her own clothes. This comment got me thinking. I make most of my own clothes; so for me, as well, size isn't an issue. I am always going to have what I want to wear. I am healthy, meaning I have no diagnosed conditions that require treatment of any sort. I eat well. I excercise. There is nothing wrong with me. So why do I feel like there is always something that I need to be doing to better myself? Am I trying to be other than my ownself? What is my ownself? A 40 year old woman. I look in the mirror and I am satisfied with what I see. I'm not really sure where that satisfaction comes from. Am I pleased with how I look? Or have I just accepted how I look. Some would ask, What's the difference? And a big part of me is in that number. But other ...

Yeah! I take breaks from working out when I have my period. I said it. I ain't shamed either. I also allow myself time to nap, cry and eat. You have a problem with that? Nothing? Uh huh.... thought so! Peace

Peace Y'all, I have been practicing yoga consistently for Wisdom months now. I feel really good.... strong. I see what additional flexibility can do for the body and I am satisfied with the results. I'm not getting smaller, but I'm getting better. And really, what more can I ask for. One of my finishing moves is called "Savasana" or corpse pose. You lay flat on your back, eyes closed, feet falling apart, palms up. I use this pose to end my personal sequenced home practice. I suspect the reason why I sequence it in like that is because it clearly is a relaxed position. And most of the videos sequence it at the end. Born Allah Truth.... You knew there had to be a but in there... I didn't always find it relaxing. When you do a pose in a studio/ashram or from a video, there is only so much relaxation you can achieve. You have to be mindful of keeping up with the video or the class. No matter how you get into a pose you kinda have to adjust your head or eyes to Kno...

Peace A few days ago I did something I hadn't done in a long time.... I ate a big salad. I have been walking someone through the vegetarian transition. When you teach someone anything, you tend to do so from the perspective of how you were taught. You emphasize what you liked and de-emphasize what you didn't. When I became a vegetarian, a decade ago, things were very different from the way they are now. It was mad cheap. Tofu was something you had to go to an authentic Chinese food restaurant to get. Then you could only get it steamed and looking at you as a white block. There was no internet loaded with ideas and I didn't personally know other practicing vegetarians. My mother is a raging pork-atarian. I have been focusing on all the variety and flavor that a vegetarian diet offers. A salad is like... white bread. You know it's there. Its an old standby. I loved it! The lettuce, the tomatoes, the dressing all the additives.... Mmmm.... I missed it. I had been eating sa...

Peace Y'all! A few months ago... like July... The God and I were in the grocery store. We were joking around and having fun as is our custom. This old woman walked up to us and asked us if we were together. We confirmed that we were. She then asked us if we were wanting to have children. A very odd and nosy question for a stranger to ask don't you think? But we were in a playful warm current so we obliged her question. She told us to not think about it and just enjoy the interaction. If I got tight then nothing would happen. Okay. I dismissed what she said as a root work. I'm a scientist and a health care professional. Even though this old woman reported having 9 biological children of her own, what do I need her advice for? I know how to get pregnant... right? Another one of my friends who has 3 children (we are the same age) told me essentially the same thing. She said if you are stressed, the internal structures are too tight to receive life. Humph! What does she know? ...

Peace! I have been on my grind for a month now. I need to first explain how I classify months. I do them from cycle to cycle. That's a month for me. Since my cycles are essentially 28 days, it corresponds with the moon's cycle and I have 13 months in my year. (Like my Actual Facts...) That might be TMI for some, but it is what it is. I'm a female. I got cycles. So what? My routine looks like this..... I do my Dinacharya in this order.... rise at 5:30 am (usually, unless I'm tired then I hit the snooze no more than twice) I dry brush, oil up, rub on my snazzy facial of ground oatmeal paste with water, neti, eyes, teeth, shower, dress, warm water/lime and head off to work. I walk 1.5 miles to work and when I get in the office, I do 10-15 minutes of yoga. That makes my am workout about 35 minutes. I have some tea afterward and get in a good mental space (some call it meditation) for about 5 minutes and have some tea before I get down to business. I eat a snack around 10 am...

Peace. Every morning that I work, I take a leisurely walk from the bus stop to the job. It's about 1.5 miles and I can walk it in 15-20 minutes. Sometimes as quick as 10 if I hump. But not usually. I don't like to rush like that. I use that time to meditate and get my head right for the day. There is a woman who I ride the bus and if the weather is inclement, the train, who noticed that I have been getting my walk on. She works across the street from me and she has been intrigued by me walking. (Her words not mine) Last week, She and I reached the same point at the same time; her on the train and me walking. She was impressed. Anyway, this morning she decided to join me. This is what and how this build was made. In order for us to move together I had to slow down some. She flat out on 2 occasions had to stop and sit. It took about 30 minutes to get from the bus stop to the job. I hadn't broken a sweat (it was only 73 blessed degrees) but she was puddling. Just before parted...

Peace, My Ayurvedic dosha is Kapha. I'm a big girl, ain't never been thin. I've been smaller but never thin. I am ALWAYS cold and I hate the winter. I love to sleep and will spend the day indulging if I can. But I am NOT lazy. I am a a solidly grounded person who see's thing out to the end. That's my cee. Here is one from the internet.... http://www.whatsyourdosha.com/kapha.html Kapha-type people tend to have sturdy, heavy frames, providing a good reserve of physical strength and stamina. This strength gives Kaphas a natural resistance to disease and a generally positive outlook about life. The Kapha dosha is slow, and Kapha types tend to be slow eaters with slow digestion. They also speak slowly. They are calm and affectionate but, when out of balance, can become stubborn and lazy. They learn slowly, with a methodical approach, but also retain information well with a good understanding of it. Kapha dosha controls the moist tissues of the body, so a Kapha imbalance ...

Peace, One of the concepts that Ayurveda teaches is the need for routine. There are seasonal and daily routines. Dinacharya literally means Daily=dina routine=charya. There are 2 cycles in a day. Each cycle is broken up into 3 sections. Those 3 sections correspond with the 3 doshas. 6am to 10pm – Kapha 10am to 2pm – Pitta 2pm to 6pm – Vata. There are 2 distinct sets of activities depending on the cycle. My morning cycle looks like this... Get up between 4:30 and 5:30 Brush my teeth Wash my face (with an Ayurvedic recipe) Rinse out my nose Clean my eyes Massage my body with oil Do some yoga all greasy Shower Meditation Breakfast Work Lunch gets in there The evening cycle look like this.... Dinner Light exercise (emphasis on light) Pondering of day's activities Shower Sleep. The evening is the antithesis of the morning because where as you spend 6am-6-pm mostly working, you spend 6pm-6am mostly in relaxation mode. This routine is working for me. I feel very balanced all throughout my...

Peace, In my previous post, I stated that I was going back to yoga. I am. But that's not all... I have been a researcher, for the most part, on Ayurveda. There are some things I add on to my personal cipher and some things I don't. I'm not judging myself because if folks were honest that's exactly how they get down with the various modalities and lifestyles. I see yoga as not only exercise (although, that's mostly how I have been approaching it) but as a lifestyle. It includes body, mind and soul. I define soul as that which is within that is not controlled by rational thought. Clearly, the yoga will take care of the physical exercise and the Ayurveda will govern the whys and hows of my routine and diet. Ayurveda also provides some healing modalities, but healing is not necessary if you don't get ill in the 1st place now does it? Ayurveda literally means "The science of life." Now you know I couldn't let the fact that those words literally show up ...

I am frustrated y'all!!!! Arghh!!!! Here is the situation.... I have practiced yoga on and off (mostly off) since 2001. I see yoga as a gateway. If you know me enough to know my personal thoughts on things, I see that there are many paths to consciousness. Consciousness I define as being in a state of supreme bliss brought on by knowledge. There are many gate ways to this bliss. For me it was vegetarianism, for others its natural hair, others still yoga. Once in the corridor, one will come into the other truths given time and effort. The longer in, the more conscious one becomes. Simply because it's a process that builds. Not saying that someone old is a better person than a newbie. But longer folks have just had more time to marinate. Back to my point. I love yoga, but I find it's practice fraught with politics that I don't want to deal with. When I started practicing yoga, it was because I saw a class on TV and was intrigued. I tried to do some of the poses and bought...

Peace Y'all, These last 2 months since the fast have not been great ones. I am constantly feeling poorly now a days. I have constant unrelenting gas, my stomach never feels completely well, I am consistently and lightly motion sick, I have no energy, my vision is out of whack a bit-goes with the dizziness I suppose and I am tired all the time. In a nutshell.... I don't feel good. And I'm putting on weight. I have almost regained all the lost weight. Not a good look. Since the fast I have not really been drinking soda... much. I am back on cooked foods, but I still strive to get my raw veggies and fruits in there. Smoothies for breakfast and fruit snacks. I have not been eating salads at all. I'm going to get back to that. I have been consuming a lot more dairy than normal. I have been walking a new vegetarian through the transition. He hasn't indicated that he was willing to give up dairy. So I have been using it a lot to allow him the feeling that he's not miss...

An Earth made the passing comment that we should go out for a day of pampering and get out locs done. Every since she said that, I have been deeply pondering if that would be something I'd be interested in. I have had my locs since May of 2008. I said that I would lock my hair either when I turned 40 (which I'm not yet) or if something life altering happened. My father died March 1, 2008. That was life altering. I have never had anyone to physically help me with my locs. I have had folks give me advice or have searched loc maintenance and styles. Prior to locing I had been natural since 2000. So it's not like I was starting with no hair. And I already had learned to care for my hair and wore my natural hair out all the time. I became natural not because I got all enlightened and isht, but because I had a bad perm. I had had bad perms before but this one was major. I had become a vegetarian and I have always had a sensitive scalp and needed special attention. I became even m...

I just reconnected with an old friend from my past. He and I used to be inseperable. He was always with me and performed various and sundry tasks for me. We were so close that he has touched every part of my body. We parted company because I heard some disturbing rumors about him and we had a run in or two. I didn't give him the benefit of the doubt. I just kicked him to the curb for another. But he and I have found our way back to each other. I had missed him. Now some of those rumors were true. So our new relationship will be qualified and re-qualified as we go along. But somehow I think he will be in my life forever. I love you..... Vaseline! I stopped using vaseline or petoleum jelly years ago becaue of the mineral oil and the way it's processed. It is a by product of oil refinery. That doesn't sound like anything I want to slather all over my body. Also I was noticing that I would get body acne when using vaseline. Yick. Not a good look. I just didn't think it was...

Peace Y'all, Okay.... It is day 9 since I returned back to food. I ain't going to lie, I had moments of debauchery and feasting. But that is all past. For every bad meal I had, I suffered. I mean I ate a candy bar and got all sweaty and nauseated. (Y'all know what's up or down)That's not good. So I am back on mostly high raw food. I'd say 80-90%. I'm staying a way from large amounts of cheese too. They cause my salivary glands on my palate to swell. If that has every happened to you, you know it hurts. And stays hurting for almost 2 days. Cheese ain't worth that. But if I see some cooked food that I want, I'm eating it. I'm sticking to pretty much mostly raw and there are days where I am eating 100%. Yesterday, I had a smoothie, some tea, raw cashews and a salad for lunch. That was it. Tea is a cooked beverage. You use hot water to extract it and the leaves are roasted. Double cooked. I mentioned before that I'm not really hungry in the eveni...

This build is extremely explicit and not for the faint of heart. Continue at your own risk..... There is a school of thought that says that menstruating women should NOT perform yoga while on their cycles. There is another school that says it doesn't matter. Where do I fall on this educational spectrum? No clue. The Anti school says that women should not put themselves in positions where the flow of blood could back up and cause a congestion in the uterus. Okay. I see that. The Pro school says it doesn't matter because women change their positions all the time without ill effects. And Where is it gonna go anyway? I see that too. I also want to add on that There is always some blood in the uterus regardless of whether it's coming out or not. It's not like the uterus is dry one day and full the day before the cycle begins. Blood builds up over time. So there is always a chance of congestion. And it's not like I don't go out of the house the five days I bleed. I st...

Family.... I am so freaking happy this is over!!!!!! I have learned a lot. 1. Diet and exercise does work. Who knew? 2. Raw food diet is so doable. It's not impossibly crazy 3. Where as raw food is doable, I don't necessarily want to do it 4. I love yoga 5. I like the way I feel after walking 6. I want to continue 4 & 5 7. I will continue on high (80% or more) raw 8. Drinking large amounts of water isn't all that bad Since today is my final day on this cleanse, I ain't going out like a punk. In the past, the last day of a fast is usually the day before I planned to end. This time I'm carrying it to the morning. I have already decided how and which what I'm going to break it. A chai latte and maybe a scone from Starbucks. Yeah baby! I did a cardio workout (it was raining) and yoga. It was a heavy upper body session and it lasted 45 minutes. I drank 100 oz of watermelon water. This is what I ate today.... Raisins celery dehydrated watermelon apple Yeah. I know...

Today I start my 5 Tibetan Rites challenge. For those of y’all who are unfamiliar with the 5TR here is a link that explains how it’s done. http://www.freedivers.net/documents/The%205%20Tibetans.pdf This is a form of yoga not to be meant to a substitute for the yoga practice I have come to love and that I’m getting better and better at. These are 5 poses that are designed to rejuvenate not exercise per se. Right now I think I’m going to do it in the morning. Y’all know with me that’s subject to change. Especially since June is going to be a crazy month for me. There is S&P mid month and then less than a week later…… ! I’m keeping that to myself for a minute. Let me just say I am ecstatic! So this month as far as fitness goes, I’m still walking and still doing yoga. I’ve put the weights down. They did nothing. All that walking has to be some type of lower body muscle workout. I mean joggers don’t necessarily do a lot of lower body work. I used to run in high school and I never did a...

Peace family! I am a long time vegetarian. A decade at this present writing. I have been vegan and a raw foodist during the decade. So I'm healthy, Right? Let's see.... I eat food from the grocery store and farmer's market. Not so much organic. I'm not loaded. But I do what I can. I drink a lot of filtered water. Why filtered? Because other water comes in plastic and plastic is bad for the environment and toxins leach into said water when it gets warm. But the filter works right? Face value because I have no clue how to check. I try not to use household cleaners that are just a chemical potion. I mix my own stuff. Is it better? Who knows. Am I really preventing toxins from entering my home? The bottom line is this.... As healthy as I try to be, the way life is, is that there chemical, toxins and impurities that are unavoidable. Face it. The planet is screwed up. So What of my health? Fingers crossed. Peace

It's almost over y'all!!! I am really very excited that I'm almost through with this cleanse. Yes I feel better. Yes I look better. But I am craving all manner of cooked foods. It's worse than it was at the beginning. Then the detox was all physical. Now I'm feeling tortured by the loss of food. Sigh...... Back to business. Last night I started a liver flush. I've done it before and got stones. Now I just get powdery looking stuff. I always do a liver flush at the end of a fast or cleanse. Fasting can cause the liver to retain stones since you generally don't ingest foods that need bile. That bile backs up in the liver and causes stones. I got stone release the 1st time I did it, but every flush since then yields only chaff. Its cool. I'll take the bowel cleansing as the best part. I do it quarterly. Here is the recipe I always use. http://curezone.com/cleanse/liver/huldas_recipe.asp Since I got the booty squirts, I have not exercised today. I'll mak...

Peace, I started out strong and piddled out. I got in all the workouts early this morning. Then I fell asleep. I am just coming into full consciousness and I am hungry. Know why? I haven't eaten all day. 45 min of walking, 30 min of yoga, and the lower body/ab work with no food. I am rightfully dizzy. I'm getting up going to Wendy's for a salad and then to Kroger for some grapefruit for the liver flush I'm going to start tomorrow evening. I'm a end this cleanse right. I see pancakes in my future..... This is what I plan to eat......... Wendy's Cesar side salad, 2 of 'em Apple Grapes And more sleep.... Peace

Peace Family (and all other lurkers good or bad....) I have vowed to not be lazy today. I may not be updating on this fast until after it's over. I don't do the meat of my updates at home. I'm usu sally too tired and just relieved to be home that I can't think like that. I just pull up what I wrote at work and make any needed adjustments and change the tenses around. I am beginning this update bright and early at work on this day 26. Since I'll be off starting tomorrow for the holiday, its unlikely, not impossible, but unlikely that I will be updating until Tuesday. Tuesday will be that party day!!!! As far as today's workouts went.... I did the Crazy 690 this morning, and did yoga when I got home. I will be done with working out by 7 pm. I'm really tired. The thing that always kills me is I will be so tired and falling asleep early every day preceding a work day. But on the day that is the actual end of my week, I am chilling like a villain. I don't kno...

Good Morning Good People, I'm a bit tired this morning. But I have some catching up to do so I shall do it..... Why did I wait until the end of this cleanse to get all lazy? That is what I have been. I normally start my post sometime during the day and post it at night. Yesterday I just ain't feel like it. I'm so close to the end, I would be less accepting of messing up now than closer to the beginning. Well I did my exercise and I did the yoga. I didn't walk. And that's the part I like almost the best. I drove to work yesterday.... had everything to do with the fact that my MARTA card ran out on Monday and I refuse to add a weeks work of fare to ride it only 2 days. It would cost $8 to ride for 2 days and $4 to park. If I added a week that would be $15. So you see... I know I should walk when I get home, but once I'm in the house I ain't leaving. Plus evening yoga makes me tired. If it ain't done before I settle in, it ain't happening. But I'm n...

Helloooooooooo.............. I'm feeling surprisingly goofy this morning. For real. It's surprising. Not so much that I feel goofy, I feel that often but that I feel it this morning. I have had drama this weekend. I lost one of my step mothers. My family dynamic is very different from the average family. I had 2 stepmothers that I was close to. 1 is still alive. This step mother I have known the longest. I don't remember not knowing her. Her daughter and I are the same age and we were raised like sisters, going to the same schools and activities. this stepmother and I used to go swimming together, just the two of us. And she used to volunteer at my school. But she was VERY sick and suffering mightily so the best thing was for her to return to the Essence because there was nothing that could be done to relieve her pain. So I am happy that she has been released from it all. But now I worry about my sister and feel trapped by the 1000 miles that separates us. I had other dram...