Goals Update

We're almost halfway through 2009. Boy time does fly! Here's a quick update on my 9 Goals for 2009.

1. Run a 5k Race - Unfortunately, I haven't done that yet. I was hoping to be ready for my first 5k last week (The National Race for the Cure). No excuses - I let laziness get the best of me. But I'm back on track now. I'm 4 weeks into my training and it has been kicking my butt - in a good way. I hope to run a 5k by August if not sooner. I will be walking in a 5k race next Saturday. I'm going to attempt to run/walk so that I can get the feel of running outside.

2. Read a Great American Novel - In my last update I mentioned I read "The Great Gatsby". My intent was to read another novel. I haven't as of yet. I don't know what to read. I may just close my eyes and point and whatever my finger lands on, that's what I'll be reading.

3. Be a better citizen of the world - I have been keeping up with this but not as much as I would have liked. My efforts have been steered more towards recycling and going green. I've started purchasing "green" cleaning products. I recycle as much as possible. And I now use reusable bags for my groceries. No more plastic for me! The little things go a long way.

4. Stop sweating the small stuff - I find myself still doing that. It's a hard habit to break. But I intend to break it. I just need to be more cognizant of doing it.

5. Stop using negative phrases - I think I have gotten better. I do make the conscious effort to suppress the inner pessimist. The best way for me to do that is to keep my mouth shut. Period.

6. Take a writing class - I hope to sign up for a writing class in the Fall. I was going to sign up for a summer class but I waited too long. Hey - another goal should be for me to stop procrastinating!

7. Decide what I want to do with my career - I know what I want to do. It's just a matter of getting there. I know that I want to work in a Library. But the jobs I've looked at all require a Masters in Library Science. I need to get off my arse and research and find out what I need to do to make that happen.

8. Finish swimming lessons - I was hoping to have this done before we go on vacation this summer. It doesn't look like that's going to happen. I'm tempted to ask hubby to give me lessons in my father-in-law's pool. It's free! But I think we'd argue too much. Let me rephrase that - I will be arguing too much! LOL!

9. Continue to improve - This is ongoing. I'm slowly getting there. Baby steps, baby steps.

I'm baaaackkkk!!!

Yes, I've been M.I.A. and I'm sorry. The last couple of months have been roadblock after roadblock. I had pretty much given up on the 5k training until 2 weeks ago. I found PodrunnerIntervals. This discovery has re-energized my goal to run a 5k race. I started week 2 of the training yesterday. And I feel great. I wanted to be ready to run a 5k by June 6th but it doesn't appear that I'll be ready for it. That is two weeks away. So now I'm looking to find something in mid to late July. The Podrunner training is for 9 weeks. If I stay on track and don't get lazy or let life get in the way, I will be 5k ready by mid July. I can't wait! I am determined to stick to this. Another thing that has me motivated is that it's officially the "start of summer" and I am nowhere near the shape I want to be in. I'm ashamed to wear sleeveless tops because my arms are too fat and jiggly. My legs are awful - cellulite city. I need to get my ass motivated and hopefully the goal of running a 5k will do the trick. I know, I've said this before. But I really mean it this time. I promise to stick with it and I look forward to the day when I post about my first 5k.

It's on like Donkey Kong!

Mother's Day

Dedication to my mom:

I love my mom. Who doesn't love their mom? I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't have a great relationship with their mother. I treasure the fact that when my brother and I were growing up, she stayed at home. I was lucky to have my mom at the bus stop in the mornings and the afternoons. Whenever there was a school play or function in the classroom, she managed to be there (even though she didn't know how to drive at the time). It wasn't until we moved from Memphis to Virginia that my mom had to get a job and work outside the home. I cherish the years when I didn't have to share her with the rest of the world.

My mom is a very outgoing person. Sometimes I wish I was more like her in that aspect. She's also funny, sarcastic and loving. Her laugh is contagious. I laugh like her - LOUD. She speaks her mind and does not mince words. With my mom - what you see is what you get. She does not believe in pretenses.

I realize as I get older, I am becoming my mom. At first I feared it. For a daughter, the worse thing that could be said to you is "You're just like your mother." I've heard many times from my husband and used to say "No I'm not". But now I don't deny it. In my mind I'm saying "Thank you" because my mother is da bomb! She's a strong woman. She loves her family. I know that I can go to my mom for anything. I grew up knowing that this woman loved me. And I always feel loved when I'm around her. Even as an adult, she's still "mommy" to me.

I tip my hat off to C.W. You are my hero. And I am honored to be just like you.

Happy Mother's Day!

"Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. "

"We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves."

I love my family

*NOTE* I started this post last Monday. For some reason I couldn't get my thoughts together to finish it so I saved it. I now know what I want to say so here it goes:

I haven't posted in a while and I hate that my new post is about death. But I feel that I need to express how much I love my family and how this tragedy really brought it to light. Thursday before last, my mom called me at work to tell me that my Uncle Bo died of complications from sickle cell. He'd been in the hospital for a couple of weeks fighting the latest crises. When I heard the news, my heart started hurting. Uncle Bo is my one of my dad's younger brothers. My dad has 5 brothers and 4 sisters. Living with sickle cell, my uncle was constantly in and out of the hospital. But he would always fight through. This time his body couldn't fight any longer. I was able to see him while we were visiting for Thanksgiving. I am grateful that I had that time with him. I am thankful that I had my uncle in my life for so long. People living with sickle cell don't have a long life expectancy.


We drove down to Arkansas to attend the wake and funeral. As always, it was great visiting relatives and seeing cousins that I hadn't seen in years. My mom's sister from Detroit drove down to show their support. My mom's brothers and sisters were all there to provide their support for my dad. They grew up in a small town in Arkansas so the community is very close-knit. I was having a great time, putting the reason why we were there to the back of my mind. I won't go into details regarding the wake and the funeral. Everything was beautiful and it was everything my uncle wanted. He wanted his funeral to be a celebration of his life. We can shed our tears, but know that he is in a better place. He's no longer sick, he's no longer in pain. That night (after the funeral, burial and repast) we went to a fish fry. It was a party-like atmosphere. We were laughing, rejoicing, watching NCAA basketball, playing cards, trash talking - being a family. It's a shame that death is what brought us all together.

While my uncle was in the hospital, he made it known that he wanted everyone to come down for the 4th of July. I'm sure he thought that he would make it through this last crises and would be well enough to host a 4th of July celebration at his house. In honor of him, we are going to keep that promise. Family is so important. Death should not be the catalyst for reaching out to your family. We're all busy doing our own thing but we shouldn't let that get in the way of keeping family first. We need to stick together and love each other.

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

Metro

Yesterday on my way home, I was sitting at the back of the metro listening to my iPod and slightly dozing off. When I first got on the train it was a little crowded. When I saw the man in the long trench coat standing, I didn't think much of it. I did find it odd that he was standing in the middle of the train, holding on to the back of a seat that someone was sitting in. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. After two stops, the train pretty much emptied out and there were lots of empty seats. But "trench coat" guy continued to stand in the same spot. As the train ride progressed, I started thinking that this guy was creepy. I kept wondering why won't he sit down? There were plenty of empty seats. I felt sorry for the lady that he was standing behind. If I was her, I would have gotten up and moved elsewhere. It was too creepy for me.



I decided to sneak a pic of the "Creepy Trench coat Man". As you can see, plenty of empty seats at his disposal. He didn't sit down for the entire 22 minute ride. Weird.

Spring is in the air

Spring has finally decided to make an appearance fter having our first snow storm on March 1st (still can't believe it). There's still snow on the ground but hopefully the meltdown will start soon. Today it's in the mid 40s and sunny. Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the high 50s almost 60. And by Sunday it's going to be 70 degrees! Hallelujah! All of the now brown snow should be melted and gone by the start of the new week. Not only that, I will be able to finally get my car washed! Woo-hoo! I can't believe I'm excited about washing my car but I can't take another day driving in filth. I can barely see out my windows.

Here's to looking forward to a nice, warm sunny weekend. Yay!

First Winter Storm...in March!

This has been a mild winter. We've barely had any precipitation. The most know we've had since December was 2 inches - and that's pushing it. We've had frigidly cold temps which has really sucked. So we've all been praying for an early Spring. I was so excited when it was finally March 1st. I was thinking Spring is right around the corner. Woo-hoo! STOP! Not so fast said Mother Nature. She had other ideas.

We get our first major snow storm on March 1st. The meteorologists were predicting 4-8 inches in Northern Virginia. What the hell? It's March! We should not be getting snow. That time has passed. Uh no, it hasn't. It started with freezing rain/sleet Saturday night into Sunday. The snow started falling Sunday evening. Fairfax County Public Schools announced at 8:30pm Sunday night that schools were going to be closed Monday. So I guess this storm is going to be serious.

I woke up this morning to a Winter Wonderland. Snow was everywhere and it was still coming down. I couldn't believe it. It's March! No time for snow! I guess Mother Nature wasn't listening. The good thing is I didn't go to work today. Yay! The bad thing is, I have to go to work tomorrow. And missing a day from work is like missing 5 days. It takes the rest of the week to catch up. Great. Something to look forward to.

Darrius measured the snow on our balcony. We got around 5 inches in our area.


I then gave Darrius my camera and told him to take some pics.







By the end of the week we're supposed to be in teh 60s. Hopefully the snow will melt quickly. I have no desire to look at it for longer than a week.

I hate winter! Hurry up Spring.