Anaconda!!!!!

Well if you have been following my blogs you know by now my family has moved to Cary, North Carolina. For those of you who have never been or haven't been in the last ten years North Carolina is definitely not the North Carolina you used to visit or hear about. We live in a wonderful community where everyone is from somewhere else, (New Jersey, New York Idaho, yeah Idaho) and the people are very friendly. We have a club house with three pools, a full size indoor basketball court, a playground, a gym and numerous activities. I love it! My kids love it! Even though we have an ongoing battle against bugs coming into our house we are pretty pampered. Until HE slidered across our path! Now I'm the kind of girl who is always prepared for action, I don't know if its because of my love for action movies (Aliens, Terminator, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,Jurassic Park,Star Wars,The Matrix, Predator, Kill Bill,Independence Day the list goes on and on!) I always imagine myself in the starring role, saving mankind. I even have a special wardrobe: Jeans, Sneakers, Hoddie, Cap and leather jacket. This ensemble is good for jumping from planes,fighting against aliens,surviving a shipwreck etc. Food: I will always carry some kind of food and bottled water with me. (I have other things in a special getaway bag) So whenever you see me dressed and carrying a duffle bag I must be chasing some action. One day I was walking home from the pool with my son Will and my neighbor Tanya and her daughter. We decided to walk back home by the lake path. Now this is a beautiful lake that connects two properties it doesn't go around the lake just across it.with benches for you to sit and look at the water while your thinking about your life. Will is on his bike and he's ahead of us as we walk around a little curve in the path immediately we see it. SNAKE It was lying there in the middle of the path with its head up, like a little statue. It was facing in the direction of my son, so my guess was that he zoomed past it (of course he didn't see it) and it was startled. Will started to ride back towards us and I shouted at him not to,because the snake was between us and him. It was long and green and we had no idea what kind of snake it was.I immediately went into action mode. Okay now what did Jennifer Lopez do in Anaconda to kill the snake? Samuel L Jackson had a gun on Snakes on a Plane, (No gun)so that's out. We didn't think that we could probably just walk around the snake and he would have been alright with that. I didn't want Will to ride his bike back down the path, what if the snake bit him on his leg and it was poisonous and I had to suck the poison out of his leg, how fast is this snake? should I run zig zag or straight when it comes to attack me? A million thoughts ran through my head. I don't have jeans or sneakers on, he can bite my toes and my legs, I can't even kick him! What do I do? I have to save my baby and my neighbors! I picked up a rock and threw it at the snake......I wasn't trying to hit him just make him move.Will starts yelling at me," Ma why are you trying to hurt the snake he didn't do anything to you! (Of course he didn't realize I was trying to save his life) Well the snake didn't move, I threw another one, nope, another one, nada. My neighbor said maybe its dead, Nah I said I think he knows that they are only rocks and can't really hurt him.(At this point I'm trying to hit him but I'm a lefty with a bad arm)So now I'm out of rocks and the snake is still standing there, what could I possibly do? Tanya hands me a water bottle, try water she says, I take the top off and inch up closer to the snake and throw some water on him, he flinches, I got him now! I throw the rest of the water on him.Give me more water I cry! The snake finally thinking its raining on him turns and slinks back into the grass. We run past the spot with me still throwing water at the grass. Of course we cracked up about it afterwards, two grown women running from a little green garden snake, but I live by the Boy Scout Code: Always be prepared. This is a picture of the snake we battled with.
WHATEVER, IT WAS A LOT BIGGER IN PERSON!!!

Afro Power!!!

Greetings Family! I just wanted to remind everyone that I am 8 months and counting of being perm free!! I am very proud of myself. I admit that any change is not always easy, so I am trying to find my style in this new natural world. I must share a story that has helped me to know that I am on the right track. I travel by NYC subway on my way to work each day. Last week as a walked through the station I saw the familiar newspaper men. They greet the commuters every morning with “Good Morning sir!” “Have a blessed day miss!” “The paper is free. Don’t be afraid to take it!!” I can always count on them, even when I can’t count on the subway. Well this particular morning I saw two or three of my newspaper friends huddled together. What was happening this morning? Was one man trying to take another’s spot? Did they run out of papers? Who is that new guy? Family, I was all in it lol! Well because I was staring so hard one of the newspaper men caught my eye. When I realized I was busted I quickly turned my head and kept on my way to work. Well family, it doesn’t pay to be nosy. All of a sudden, from behind me I hear yelling through the NYC subway……I SEE YA FOXY BROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Family……………OMG!!! Ok, maybe he is not talking to me. Maybe there are other sisters on their way to work with big afros! But no, I knew he was talking to me!! I slowly turned around and Jerome (probably not his real name) screams…..YEAH YOU!!!!!! I SEE YA FOXY BROWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Extra big cheese burger smile included) Well family, I couldn’t help but crack up and smile right back at Jerome. He made my day and I have been telling this story ever since. He appreciated my afro and I appreciated him. So I dedicate my blog to all the Jerome’s getting their hustle on in the subway every day. Keep doing your thing. Power to the people Jerome!!

Love Foxy Brown

Becoming a healthier me - Part II

Hey Pooka Family! So it's been about a month since I challenged myself to reduce my "white" intake and loose 10 inches of belly fat. I have to say, this is no easy challenge! My favorite foods include white rice as their staple i.e. sushi (love those spicy tuna hand rolls), Chinese food (PF Chang's is my favorite), Spanish food (arroz con pollo is my family's favorite dish that I cook)! Nevertheless, I did make some strides towards my goal. Instead of cooking arroz con pollo 5 times a week, I reduced it to 3 times. Also, it's been about a month since we've been to PF Chang's (although now I've seen commercials that they are selling their entrees in the grocery stores). No worries there, I like the experience of going to the restaurant..one less day I have to cook. But I have been keeping up with my exercise. Dawn joined the gym with me and now we take Hip-Hop class 2-3 times a week. So although I have not reached my goal of getting my waist to 31.5" by May 31st my determination still continues! I am going to reach that number! I am happy to say that I am getting close. I measured my waist this morning and I am at...(drum roll please)..38.5" I've lost 3" of belly fat off my waist! I am very proud of myself. I still have a ways to go but I know if I commit myself a little more this month, then I know I will see even more of a reduction! So stick with me Seania, I know we can do it. Anyone else out there up for the challenge? It's more fun when we work towards our goals together! Be inspired to be a healthier you!

I'm....a DONC-ER!!

As you all know by reading Tricia’s earlier Blog, she has begun taking hip hop class. She has been trying to get me to come and finally I went. My first class I was HOOKED! Now I’m not saying I was good, I’m saying I was hooked. Tricia used to tell me how hard it was, but I just thought to myself, “Tricia, hip hop is my middle name, JayZ stays on my ipod.” I humored her knowing that everyone can’t be down with Jayz! As I waited for the music to begin in class, I stretched a little and sized up the rest of the ladies, “Oh, it’s on” I thought. As the music started, I took a deep breath and began to channel my inner Beyonce…”Inner beyonce, ACTIVATE!!” and who came out? My innerBetty White! Hey I went with it though Betty White still has some moves in her!!! As I battled my way through my first class, I was disgusted with myself. When I got to my car, my radio came on and I knew that I deserved no good tunes, so I turned on an easy listening station and drove out with my head hangin low! When I got home I was determined to go to class next time and do better so I figured If I wanted to be good I had to LIVE the part! We all remember FAME and the beginning where Debbie Allen says, “You want fame, well right here is where you start payin” I knew what I had to do! If you’re going to be a “Dancer” then you must look the part. Now I wear leg warmers and ripped sweatshirts hanging off of one shoulder!(Very 80’s dancer but still….DANCER!!!) I went to the mall and purchased sparkly sneakers, when I talk to people I tell them that I’m……A DONC-ER (You have to pronounce it that way for more effect!) My mother will ask me if I’m going to the gym for class and I quickly tell her it’s not class it’s “REHEARSAL”! Once you truly become a DONC-ER people will ask you to perform at the drop of a hat! During our memorial day BBQ the family asked me and Tricia to do our routine. ARE THEY CRAZY!!! WE COULD GET HURT!!! As a DONC-ER you can’t just perform whenever someone asks, don’t take any unnecessary chances of twisting an ankle(or getting laughed at, LOL). I have to say that it’s been at least 9 classes and now when I channel my inner Beyonce, she still doesn’t show up but neither does Betty White! When I enter class and look at the other ladies, there’s a dancer respect, they nod at me and I nod back, then I pull up my leg warmers and get to work!(Caution: you can lose consciousness from wearing leg warmers in the summer!!) If you really want to check me and Tricia out, our class will be doing a live performance on June____ at _____in ________, NJ!!!! Yeah, you fill in the blanks cause we won’t, LOL!!!!!!