Cheap AND Healthy is not a fantasy...

I always say that it costs more to have less things in your food. Organic stuff is more expensive than highly processed foods. That's pretty sad. Our society wants us to be healthy and thin and beautiful, but they want us to be all of that on a diet of Krispy Kreme and McDonalds (don't forget to wash it all down with an extra large Coke!).

I know we're in a recession, and I know organic stuff is pricey, but that's not an excuse to eat unhealthily (is that even a word??? You know what I mean dammit lol) All I'm trying to say is that you can eat healthy and not break the bank.

I have an example of how I did that today, or I should say how I am doing it, since I am eating as I type this. I already told you guys about my random chicken craving. Well, we bought a whole chicken, already cut, cooked, seasoned and baked for $6. That same evening, we also bought a bag of coleslaw. Now I am not a big mayo fan so I tend to shy away from coleslaw. But this was the bag in the salad section, and all it is is cabbage and carrots shredded up. We got that for 79 cents. I took some of the coleslaw and put it in a plastic container, popped it in the microwave for about 2 minutes to steam it. So I have baked chicken with a side of cabbage for under $7. What's even better is that the chicken lasted for 3 days. So really it is possible to spend about 7 bucks and eat for 3 days. I think that's pretty affordable.

Another thing...make sure to see what sales your local grocery store has going on. And don't be discouraged if you can't do all of your shopping at one store. Meghan and I go to 3 stores: our neighborhood, hole in the wall store (Piggly Wiggly) Kroger, and Wal Mart. We go to Pig Wig for produce, because we know when they first bring it in and it's always priced just right. We go to Kroger for pretty much everything else. We only go to Wal Mart for toiletries, and we might get food items if their price is lower than Kroger's.

Another thing that helps save money is portion control. When I make dinner, I usually eat while keeping in mind that I want to have food left over to take to work the next day.

I'll end on this not: DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF H2O!!! I was starving earlier, but I wasn't in a place to eat so I just drank water. It really did help. I'm not saying it took my hunger away completely, but it took the edge off. Did you know that most people are chronically dehydrated, so they confuse thirst with hunger? I will devote anther post to water later.

Eat right, live right.

Eat More Chikn?

OMG. I have been on this protein kick lately. I've been randomly craving chicken and fish. Maybe my body is ready to follow my mind and make some changes. I need to make some changes. I have allowed myself to slip back into old habits and pick up a dew pounds. I do NOT like it. I refuse to put my health on hold, so I am starting today. It's not just about health though. I don't want to keep reminiscing on the body I used to have. I want to have an even better version of that body. It's not going to be easy. I need to lose at least 15 pounds, probably more like 20. But I'm ready and willing to do it, because I want to see results. Anyway, back to chicken. Meghan and I went to Kroger last night at 11pm cause I was craving chicken. I really wanted pulled chicken from this BBQ joint, but it was too late for that. We bought some baked chicken. As soon as we got settled into the car I started tearing into that chicken. I felt like a straight carnivore. I better enjoy it now cause I can't have chicken or any other meat next month.

Photos by Tamara Natalie Madden

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THESE. I can't wait to see more of these lovely photos. Natural hair is versatile as hell. For this shoot, I four strand twisted my hair then bantu knotted the twists. It resulted in tight coils that I LOVE. I like how it looks, so I have been wearing my hair like this since the shoot. I think I will lock my hair using this method, because the coils look a lot like starter locks. Anyway, I don't have a bunch of pictures yet, so I will post more as I get them. Stay tuned!

Recap of shoot with Tamara Madden

The shoot was great! Tamara is multitalented: first and foremost, she is an artist and her paintings are amazing! She does photography as a means to inspire her art. She also does hair and makeup. All I had to do was show up and she took care of the rest! I will admit she is far from me and it was quite a drive, but my boo was very patient with me and drove out there with no complaints. I love my fee ants :)

Anyway, the shoot was funky. We shot outside and Tamara truly maximized nature's potential in the area we were in. It was a beautiful day and we took advantage of it.

Basically, today was pretty awesome. I can't wait to work with her again.
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Tired of this jelly

Bootylicious just popped in my head.

:singing: I don't think you ready for this jelly...

I am tired of this jelly.

I am not pleased with my body. I miss my smaller waist and slimmer arms. I miss the definition I once had.

I had to admit that to myself. I have been going through this cycle of admitting that I want to lose weight, then reassuring myself that I'm ok.

The problem is that I'm not ok. I am overweight and I know it. I want to lose weight, but I'm not particularly motivated to stop being lazy. I put off exercising. I internally make excuses. I say I am going to do something, then I don't.

I said I was going to start getting up early in the morning and working out for 30 minutes, then walking for at least 30 minutes in the evening.

I need to get it together. I don't just want to lose weight... I want to be healthy.

Today I watched videos of people who lost a lot of weight, but in a healthy weight. Most of these people lost 50+ pounds! Now, I don't feel like I need to lose 50 pounds, but I'm pretty sure I could stand to lose 30. I don't know how much I weigh; honestly I don't want to know. I do know my measurements though, so I will track my progress that way.

I am ready. I am so ready. I am BEYOND ready. I'm tired of complaining about my weight. Time to do something about it. A lot of issues run in my family: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack... I certainly don't need to add to my risk.

Let the lifestyle change begin. I hope you come along for the ride.
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Coffee- part 1

This is old but I'm currently working on part two, so I decided to post part one.

You sit there, consumed in your thoughts. You always sit in that chair, the one closest to the window. It's like you want to be ready to escape at any moment. I always see you sitting there and I want to say something, but I never do. I’m scared that if I say something I’ll disrupt that perfect calm you’ve created and you'll fly out of that window.

Every day as I wait in line for my coffee I glance at you. I memorize the curve of your spine as you sit, hunched over whatever book you're reading, your hands pulling your hair back to keep your locs off of the precious pages.

I always keep a single black band around my wrist. Not for my hair, but for yours. I wonder why you never wear a headband; you just hold your hair back with your hands.

If I were you I wouldn't wear a headband either. I'd always want to feel that hair.

You are black. Your eyes and teeth are stars on a dark chocolate sky. I take a quick look at you, then let my eyes drop back down into my cup. I look deep into the dark liquid.

I’m trying to see if my coffee is the same color as you.

Each day before I walk out of the house I take one last look in my full length mirror and say:

"Today is the day." Today is the day when I'll say hello. Today is that day that I’ll offer you the rubber band around my wrist. Today is the day when I'll get close enough to you to see if you match my mocha cappuccino.

I walk into the coffee shop. There you are, right by the window, reclining in that same chair, eyes closed, locs spilling over your cheeks and down past your shoulders, headphones on, cassete player in hand, tapes spread all over your lap.

You are beautiful.

I look at my wrist, making sure the band is still there. It is. I walk up to the counter and order my usual. As I wait I twist the black band around my wrist. The cashier gives me my coffee and I turn to leave, head down, eyes drowning in my cup. I walk, trying to hurry and leave because I don't know what to say to you. I am mad at myself once again for not having the courage to speak. I’m almost at the door when

Everything is in slow motion. I hear tapes clatter onto the tile floor. I feel coffee spill on my coat. I see two pairs of brown hands, grabbing at tapes as they hit the floor. I hear voices, first emitting curses then frantically whispering apologies. I feel hands wiping my coat.

There is one more tape on the floor. I pick it up and place it in those brown hands. Then, I look up.

You look back at me. You open your mouth and words spill out like the coffee that stained my coat.

"I'mreallysorryforbumpingintoyou. I'm Siam by the way."

But I’m already out the door.

Part two comign soon.

Poetry: Carmex (oldie but goodie)

I'm kinda jealous of your Carmex

You want to know why?

Cause it's always in your pocket

Ready to be reapplied

Your lips are addicted to it

Always wanting more

As soon as you run out

You rush to the store

Cause you can't live without your Carmex

See, that's what I mean

I want your lips to be

That addicted to me

If I was Carmex

Would I stay on your lips

Make you smile

Provoke you to kiss

If I was Carmex

Would it be me your lips craved

Essentially making

Your mouth my slave

If I was Carmexv Would I have your lips hypnotized

Cause every time I glide over them

They're instantly moisturized

Well then call me Carmex

If that's what i must be

To have your lips

Covered in me

My Hairstory

Going natural wasn't a big deal to me. I honestly just didn't want to perm my hair anymore. I didn't see the point; whenever I permed my hair it would eventually break off. I figured it couldn't get any worse, so I just stopped perming it. I didn't really know what to do with it. I didn't know any thing about transitioning. So I kept it in afro twists or braids.

One day I stood in the mirror and chopped my permed hair off. I didn't do that great of a job, so I went to a salon and let a stylist cut the permed hair off that I didn't quite get to. When I stopped perming my hair, I was in 10th or 11th grade. When I went to the salon, I was a senior. So I have been perm free for over 4 years.

Now, having natural hair means more to me than simply not having a perm. It's about embracing my wonderful nappy hair. Most of the time that i've been natural I spent wearing twists and braids with weave for the most part. I hadn't worn my fro out for more than a week at a time. Recently, I have been wearing my hair out. I have good and bad days, but I love my hair, and it's hard for me to keep my hands out of it. It's soft, thick, and unique.

The next step in my hair journey is to GET LOCKED UP! I'm so excited about locking my hair. And of course I will be documenting my journey. I hope you decide to follow me!

Hair isn't the only thing I write about... I am primarily a poet. So check out my blog! You never know what you may find...
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I think they do it 3 or 4 times a week...

I'm talking about cutting the grass. I think the grass here at Agnes Scott is cut like every other day. It's fucking ridiculous. Soooo I took a math test, no studying, no calculator and I'm still pretty confident that I did well on it. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I have a shit load of work to do. My boo is sick so that sucks. Ok so my dilemma is...I don't know whether to buy a high end point and shoot camera, or a low end dslr. I am looking at the Canon Rebel XS. It's kinda calling my name. If I get a point and shoot, it will probably be a Sony or a Nikon. I will elaborate on this later.

Update since my last blog post

Went to the Black Cat Formal. Music sucked, but still had a good time with my boo. Everyone looked really nice. Junior Production was pretty awesome. I had two photo shoots this past weekend; both were quick and both went well. I got to spend a lot of time with Meghan this weekend, so that was nice. My phone has been acting really ridiculous lately; so I'm not too pleased with the CrackBerry right now. I'm excited about posting pictures of beautiful women with natural hair. Ok, that's it for now. I have a lot of work to do so I'm not feeling particularly chatty today.