First Born Nephew

My nephew is a sophomore at A & T. He needed a break from campus, so I happily obliged to scoop him up for the weekend. I left work early to try and miss some of the construction traffic.

I get to his dorm and he’s not waiting outside. Um, dude I said I was almost there, where are you? LOL!

He finally comes loping out and says, “I need help bringing my stuff down.” Boy, what stuff? You only coming for two days!

That would be this stuff:

a.k.a. LAUNDRY.

What the heck, man! LOL! Now I know how my mom felt when I came home from college.

At least he brought his own detergent. LOL!

I love this kid. 🙂

One Step Closer

A few weeks ago, I asked for a suggestion for a real estate agent in the area. My friend Kelley, whom I love and trust, recommended the agent who helped her parents buy their house. Cool! Our schedules kept conflicting, but finally we found a day where myself, HH and said agent were able to sit down and talk.

I learned more about the home buying process in this one appointment than I ever knew before. Although it sounds intimidating, I’m confident that Bill (the agent), is the right person to help us with this undertaking.

And in the kismet/karma/six degrees of separation department, he’s from NY, and grew up with the man who is now the pastor of the church I grew up in. What are the chances? They are still very good friends. We had a good laugh about that.

The side of town we’ve chosen to live on, means that we’re going to sacrifice house size for convenience of the commute. I feel like, as long as we find the right house, I can be ok with that.

I think we’re ready to take on this process. Our next task is to review and sign the contract with the real estate agent, and let him know what neighborhoods we like. Oh, and make sure we have enough money for all these costs. This would be a good time to win the lottery.

Wish us luck!

Friday 5: Hold The Line

That’s an old Toto song, by the way…LOL

Today’s Friday 5 is about lines. Here we go!

1. What’s the longest line you’ve ever stood in?


Hmmmmm. I try to avoid lines whenever possible. But I think this would be the line to get into Pearl Harbor, during my 2005 Hawaii trip. And to think, our bus was early.


2. When did you have the most fun waiting in line?


Definitely the line at Capital Jazz Fest. Those of us who get there early are in line together for about 4 hours until the gates open. Inevitably there’s talk of NFL Rivalries, past jazz fests, and heckling of Meriweather Pavilion employees if the gates don’t open right at 10:00am.


3. What line, no matter how long or short it is, always drives you crazy?


Lines at the NCDMV. I still haven’t changed my vehicle registration to my married name, because I just can’t with the line.


4. When did you last behave in a manner that was over the line?


I’m pretty much good at holding the line. I know some habitual line steppers, though. LOL!


5. What are some lines of poetry you can recite from memory?

I used to have some of the lines from “Ego Trippin’ (Nikki Giovanni) memorized. I might be able to remember one or two now.

Bad Blogger

Not like Bad Santa and Bad Teacher, though.

I have been MIA! So sorry, guys. I haven’t been posting, or commenting on other blogs. Life has jumped up and bit me in the booty, so I’ve been a bit distracted. So many things are coming up this year. I promise to expound later.

We still want to buy a house this year. We’re less than impressed with CH’s high school, so buying a house will include moving to a different school zone.

It’s been almost a year at my current job (3/26). Which means almost a year since HH drove up here to propose! So much has evolved in our lives. We seem to be settling into a groove,for now. You know what happens when you get comfortable with life – it throws you a curve ball. 🙂

In the meantime, I’ll try to throw some meme posts in here, when I don’t have anything to expound on.

Happy Thursday!

Fitness Check In

Tried to do this. Annnnnnd, NO. If you don’t already have a good treadmill running base, this is not going to work. I made it through three of these intervals and that’s pretty much all I had. Not to mention, I could only do 7.0 and 7.5mph. LOL!

Last night was leg weights and this walking workout. The thing is – and maybe it’s just me – but I can’t walk like a normal person at 4.0 and 4.5. I tried walking at 4.0 and it killed my calves. Maybe it’s a gait issue (I pronate). I basically realized that at 4.5 I’m doing a slow trot, not a walk. But other than that, I enjoyed the workout and the changes in speed and incline kept me from getting bored.

I have really been focused on adding muscle to my frame. As such, the scale isn’t changing much. However, I can feel a difference in the way my clothes fit. I’ve gotten into some skirts I couldn’t fit in the fall. All the pants I bought in fall 2011 due to weight gain, are now loose in the butt area, and in the waist, too.

One of my friends is making a skirt for me, and she asked for my measurements. Soooooo not happy with the waist measurement. Hoping to see gradual changes. I think I’ll take my measurements once a month now. The scale is useful in telling me that SOMETHING is changing. I wish I had a reliable way to measure my body fat at home. My scale is supposed to do it, but I lost the directions years ago. I have no clue how to make it work. LOL

Eating? Sigh. In my logical mind, I know that going paleo would be great for my blood type and help with allergies, creaky joints, etc. HH is O+ as well, and if we both went paleo it might be easier. May be something to revisit as tri training starts this summer. I am proud to say that I have not bought any ice cream and I only had a little in my birthday as it came with the dessert Kenya and Kelley ordered for me. 🙂 Cheese, butter and sour cream? Still working on those. Paleo means no dairy…that might be pretty tough for me.

So, that’s where I’m at. Do you have fitness aspirations? How are you doing so far this year?

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday 7: The Boob Tube

It’s time again for the Sunday 7! Today’s list is 7 of your favorite tv shows as a child. Those could be pretty interesting, depending on when you grew up. I personally think the 80s were the greatest, but I could be a smidge biased.

7 FAVORITE TV SHOWS FROM MY CHILDHOOD

1. You Can’t Do That On Television

   
   I loved this show. I think Christine, aka Moose, was my favorite character. If this was on after school, I was guaranteed to be in front of the tv. Just waiting for someone to say “I don’t know,” and get slimed. It was so not an expensive show, no special effects, or anything like that. Just simple, silly TV for kids.

2. DangerMouse

   
   The exasperated way in which Danger Mouse always said, “oh, PENFOLD!” always put me in stitches. Nickelodeon had a great group of shows on in the afternoons, and this was one of them. I’ve always been a cartoon-head. Shoot, I will watch them now (Spongebob, anyone?).

3. 3-2-1 Contact

   
   3! 2! 1! CONTACT! This show appealed to my nerdy side. They found a way to explain science and how things worked, that was appealing to kids. PBS really had a lot of winners back in the day. Not to mention the show within the show, The Bloodhound Gang. “Wherever there’s trouble…we’re there on the double…we’re the bloodhound gang…” Some episodes I honestly just tuned in to see what The Bloodhound Gang was up to. LOL!

4. Degrassi/Degrassi High

   
   Nah, not the Wheelchair Jimmy Degrassi that we know today – the ORIGINAL show with Lucy, Caitlin, Joey, Spike, Snake, and Wheels. Tame, compared to today’s Degrassi, but for our time they tackled some tough subjects, like when Spike got pregnant with Emma…yep, Emma from The Next Generation. It was 80s cheesy, and I was absolutely there for it all. Absolutely. Even the token black kids. Anyway… <– in my Nene/RHOA voice

5. The Cosby Show

   
   I don’t even think this needs an explanation. Classic 80s TV. Classic. I was about Vanessa’s age, so I identified with her a lot. I learned definitely not to stay out past curfew. My parents were not The Huxtables, and it wouldn’t have been that nice. LOL! They had two parents in the household, at a time when a lot of my friends only had one parent. I loved watching their family.

6. Looney Tunes

   
   As a kid, I was not an early riser. Thus, I slept through a lot of the early morning cartoons. Looney Tunes/The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show was the last cartoon to come on ABC, at 11:00am. I could absolutely be there for that. “Duck Amok” is my favorite cartoon. It’s the one where Daffy Duck is trying to act, and the scenery behind him keeps changing. Still greatly amused, even now.

7. Fraggle Rock

   
   Red, Wembley, the Doozers, Uncle Traveling Matt, Sprocket the dog! I always thought Red was spunky. She was my favorite. You’re not an 80s baby if you didn’t watch Fraggle Rock.

Of course, I watched a lot more than this. Shows meant for grown ups, like The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Dallas, Knot’s Landing, and a plethora of other shows. I pretty much grew up in front of the TV.

What were 7 of your favorite shows from your childhood?

Friday 5 – Dim All The Lights

It’s time for the Friday 5! Ready?

Where’s a good place to check out some pretty lights?
Hmmmm. I’m not sure where to check out lights when it’s not Christmas, but there’s a small town here called McAdenville, right off of I-85, and they always have lights for Christmas. Most of the neighbors decorate their houses and folks will sit in line for hours to drive through. I’ve seen it once.

How well do you sleep with the lights on?
If I’m tired, I can conk out anywhere. I won’t sleep with the lights on, but frequently fall asleep with the TV on. Thank goodness for 4 hour power save.

What’s your favorite song with the word “light” or “lights” in the title?
Of course, my mind goes blank. The first thing that came to mind was “Dim All The Lights” by Donna Summer. However when Kanye put out “Flashing Lights” that used to be our jam at the skating rink. *having a flashback* LOL

What “light” version of some food or drink is as good as (or better than) its regular version?
I tend not to go for light versions. If you’re gonna be a monkey, be a gorilla. I don’t drink soda much, and not much beer. I don’t have anything for this one.

Which light in your house seems to need changing the most frequently, and which the least?
Man, that stupid light over the stove top goes out all the time. We’ve blown through a pack of 4 bulbs in no time. Least, I’d say the energy saver bulbs in my bedroom lamps. They’ve been in there since Duke Energy sent me the free bulbs when I lived in my apartment.