The Eye of the Tiger

I am really getting into working out as a part of my lifestyle. In order to reach my next big goal of walking 500 miles, I set a personal challenge for myself. I have challenged myself to walk 75 miles in the next four weeks. Take a look at my widget on the side to follow my progress. You can cheer me on if I'm doing well or let me know if I'm slackin'. Can't wait for your feedback. I'm like Rocky...The Eye of the Tiger!

One Foot in Front of the Other

When I came back from walking this morning with some of my crew, Team Mind, Body, and Soul, I logged in my workout on the Nike+ system and I was pleased to see a banner across my page celebrating that I HAVE WALKED 100 MILES since I started walking in March!!!!! I was sooo excited. I have a virtual milestone badge in my Nike+ profile. I printed out the certificate and posted it on my computer for continued inspiration.

Can you believe it?!! Jillybean has walked 100 miles, and at a pace of 15.36 minutes per mile no less. I have been humping. I get up in the morning around 6:00 (I got up at 5:30 this morning!!!) and hit the road. Sometimes I walk with the girls from Team Mind, Body, and Soul, sometimes I walk by myself, and sometimes I walk with the family. Team Mind, Body and Soul is a wonderful support group. Bear and I take the kids with us some mornings and get a family workout. He takes Princess in the running stroller and I walk with Juicy Boy in his stroller. I affectionately call them my resistance weights. Bear is such a huge supporter of my working out. He makes sure that I have time to workout when I want and need to. He encourages me and tells me how proud he is of me. He challenges me to increase my speed and push the limits. Bear even picks up things to help keep me motivated like and arm band for my ipod (I was sweating so much that my ipod was getting wet and I lost some data), getting me better fitting sneakers (the new sneakers have a bigger toe box), and cute exercise tops and socks!

I am so geeked that I reached the 100 mile milestone. When I thought about how far 100 miles is, I realized that it's like walking to my parents' house in DE from my old house in Forestville, MD. That's like walking from Reston to Richmond. Who knew that if I put one foot in front of the other that I'd be walking further than across the floor?

I can't wait to reach the next milestone. I'm walking about 6 miles every other day now. For the past two Saturdays, Team Mind, Body and Soul has walked 7 miles. I feel empowered! A nice side effect of walking is that my body is really responding and I wore a cute little black dress on Saturday that I haven't been able to fit in more than 5 years!

Check out my 100 mile certificate at this link http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/v1/html/milestones/print_certif.html?id=1955001542&region=us&language=en&locale=en_us&dateFormat=MM/DD/YY

Let me know if you want to come walk with me one day.

Daddy's Girl

This post isn't about me this time. It's about Princess. Last week, Princess and Bear went out to "get us some lunch." They were going before my girlfriend came over with her son to play with us at the pool. My friend arrives and we get ready to go to the pool. I figure that Bear will bring Princess to the pool when they return because they've been gone for quite awhile.

As we gather our stuff to head to the pool, Bear calls to see if my friend arrived. I told her that she did. He said that he and Princess were on their way home and that they'd meet us at the pool. Cool! We are making our way to the pool when he drops Princess off. Bear gives us a holla and heads home to change. She runs up to us with a bottle of water and gets very excited about going swimming. She and Juicy Boy are truly water babies.

Princess jumps right into the pool after putting on her swim vest. She's getting ready to go in a second time when I ask her if she had lunch. She stops, turns, and looks at me and tells me she got a bottled water. I told her that I saw her water and ask her if she went to lunch with Daddy again. She looks at me this time and says...nothing.

I start giggling to myself. This chickadee is keeping her date with her daddy a secret from me. She didn't lie. She didn't tell me it was none of my business. She wasn't sassy at all. She just conveyed her message...what goes on when she's with Daddy isn't for Mommy to know. Let me tell you...I KNOW I AM IN TROUBLE IN THE FUTURE!

I told Bear what happened and he cracked up. He said that he and Princess' dates were like Vegas sometimes. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Princess is truly a Daddy's Girl!!!

Her act of omission just lets me know her bond with Bear is growing more and more each day. I am grateful for that. I know she'll need to confide in him without my knowledge every now and then. I'm so sure about it because that is the same bond that I have with my daddy. But let me tell you, she really makes me laugh.

Love is You

While I was at the beach (we had a ball!- another post a little later on) Bear and I celebrated our Eighth Wedding Anniversary. On July 8, 2000 we said, "I Do" before our God, our family, and, our friends.

I love my husband! I am so blessed to have in him my life as my partner, best friend, confidant, personal comedian (oh, he has JOKES!), support, personal cheering section, sound board, and more! Bear is love. He is the romantic love. He is the honest love. He is the love that is there through sickness and health. He is the love that stays around through the tough times. He is the forgiving love. He is the encouraging love. He is the real love.

This Chrisette Michelle songs says it well. Happy Anniversary Bear! Eight years and counting. "It just gets better with time." I LOVE YOU!

We're Going on a Trip

As you know, I am a mother of two children under five. Because of Princess and Juicy Boy, I watch a lot of Noggin television. I love the channel for the commercial free pre-school shows that promote early reading skills, early math skills, sharing, friendship, honesty, and other positive social behaviors. Instead of commercials, Noggin plays music videos for children. I know quite a few hits from Laurie Buckner and Dan Zane. Noggin also has it's own catchy songs with featuring Moose A. Moose and his sidekick Zee. One of those songs is called, "Are We There Yet?"

Princess loves this song. She can be heard singing, "Are we there yet, are we there yet? My excitement's getting stronger. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? I really can't wait much longer!" Well, she's not the only one singing the song now. I'm singing it too because, we are going on a trip!

The Thomas women (my mom, grandmom, aunt, great aunt, cousin, Princess and I) plus Juicy Boy are going on a trip to the beach. We're not going down the shore like I used to when I was younger when we went to Wildwood or Cape May from Philly. We're going to Virginia Beach to spend some quality time, soak up the sun (I LOVE THE SUN), play in the sand and the ocean.

I was thinking of taking one of my library books to read, but I know I won't have time to rest on the beach. I'll be making sand castles, playing with dump trunks, and dipping in the ocean with Princess and Juicy Boy. Last year Juicy Boy slept quite a bit on the beach. We had a cabana which provides a good amount of shade while still allowing you to feel the breeze and the breeze was our friend. This year I'll probably be chasing him up and down the beach while watching him eat sand (YUCK)! That's just fine with me. I guess that will be a part of my daily exercise while I'm gone.

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? My excitement's getting stronger. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? I really can't wait much longer!"

Happy Fourth of July!

He's a Big Boy Now

It happened on Sunday, although Bear and I tried to hold out as long as possible. Juicy Boy got his one year old hair cut. We followed the African American tradition of not cutting Juicy Boy's hair during his first year of life. He rocked little curly ringlets...his own natural style for 14 months. He looked so cute (mother's love ooh, mother's love).

But now he is officially a big boy. He's wearing a nice summer cut that changes his appearance. Everyone who's seen him has exclaimed..."oh, my! where's your hair?" or "oh, look at the big boy with the big boy hair cut!" He just grins and grins. I think he likes his new style. I've caught him rubbing his hands over his head a couple of times. I know my dad will love Juicy Boy's new look. He's been asking, "When you gonna cut that boy's hair?"

No more Mommy's baby...(sigh)...SIKE! Always Mommy's baby:)

Soul Food

I had the best soul food this weekend! Ya'll know I love a good meal of greens, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, corn bread, and sweet tea, but that is not the soul food that I'm speaking of this time.

The soul food I'm speaking of was an outdoor concert at the Carter Baron in DC on Saturday night featuring Kindred the Family Soul and Rahsaan Patterson. I went to the concert with my line sisters the Shoe Diva, the Exercise Example, and the Partner. We had a good time together enjoying the music and each other. Both of these acts sing (and they can really sing!) about real love...the kind that's not always perfect, but the kind that recognizes and relishes in the special and unique qualities of the individuals while growing together.

Kindred and Rahsaan Patterson sing about that mighty love. They fed my soul. I hope this song feeds yours.