C O O K I E T I M E

i am a sucker for supporting my local girl scout. three boxes. those adorable little daisies got me to buy three boxes when my limit was one. gsa knew what they were doing when they created the daisies. cookie sales must have been down before their existence.

only three days left before the cookies go back in the vault. the fact that i still have two of three boxes left--i devoured the thanks-a-lot (thanks a lot for getting me off my diet)--is still quite commendable. trefoils and thin mints. i must savor them a little longer.

lately i have been buying colors that emulate the khaki palette and i know that burnt orange is a fall color (i am a fall girl) it still color, and i have been void of it for a little too long. time for an upgrade soon.

C O O K I E T I M E by andiaschehera featuring a wool felt hat

B I R T H D A Y

so there's this really incredible guy that i happen to like a lot and today is his birthday. so grateful that i still have him, especially since a couple of years ago i almost lost him for good. without him, i wouldn't be who i am. 

the intense science projects you helped me with. how many girls can say they learned how to read a naval radar schematic and troubleshoot the problem? 

teaching me how to play sports. teaching me how to enjoy watching sports.

our goofy dance offs to where i was clearly the winner every time, except for that one time in Jersey...you bested me good. you had luda on your side.

our dates. our unabashed love for anne of green gables, ever after, and pride and prejudice flicks.

dressing well. teaching me how to be a strong, independent woman all without being a man.

so as stated before, i would be nothing without him...literally...well maybe genetically someone else, but i just couldn't be 

me 

without 

him.

happy birthday, pops.

S C H U H E

went dress shoe shopping, once upon a time.

came to a sad conclusion that i can no longer sport my nine west favs which have always been a comfort to my soles. they were my first pair of heels and my bodacious calves thank them. now, i find more heels to be uncomfortable due to last years basketball injury, so boots, sneakers, and anything else that is flat takes precedence. but now i have a new job. they want me to get all dressed up and such, and said shoes will not do anymore. but i hast to has 'em. 

enter steve madden. 

i must say that i never cared for steve madden style of shoe, but in recent years i have been impressed with the face lift and he has done me a favor in  combining what i love and what i have to wear into a comfortable compromise. i think i just found my "the one". 

THE TOMGIRL SERIES | Merging by andiaschehera featuring leather booties

S U N D A Y M O R N I N G S

i woke this morning to chase the fog and its obscurity. 

that gypsy dog wished me luck, her eyes begging me to take her.

the roads are thick with the albedineity of a fallen sky that nestles in between brick and branch. this is probably the only time i enjoy the ambiguity, the mystery in my journey, taking turns where the paths lay unseen. but the sun was too fast for me, and dissipated secrecy.

i found myself in winter garden, named after a season we do not claim. where honey and orange intertwine and settle in abandoned crevices. the melancholic great lake apopka broods far beyond me. i might as well be looking across the atlantic.

what surprises the earth unveils when wandering in the unknown.

LA LA LA LOVE

had a wonderful valentines.
started the night off with 90s jams and famous couples. then valentines cards were made and handed out at random.i was told it was the highlight of most people's night.
food. champagne.
full moon. full hearts.
all while dancing like the fools that we are for allowing this day to be discarded because we hate to be alone. not tonight, friend. tonight love is all around.

C H O C O L A T E HISTORY MONTH

yep. 

i totally went there. and i totally can.

with all the valentines going around, even i forget that a whole month is reserved for honoring black americans. maybe its because most of the time its spent being showcased their mistreatment, their shortcomings. their scars are a bitter swallow, and sometimes the beckoning of creamy chocolate is a sweeter chew.

but for me, a child of parents who lived before during and after the civil rights movement, i have known nothing but love from them for all people. they are not scared by our history and i am forever blessed because of it. i can look inside the riotous crowds and marches and see chocolate and vanilla skin, looking "good together, mixed in". standing on the same side. willing to be arrested. beaten. killed for a stranger of a different shade.

that takes love. love is what i choose to see.

so in celebration of love and in celebration of blacks, here are some songs on amore sung by blacks during a time when america was purging itself of its hate.

O U T F I T

i don't get dressed up for valentines day. i think this year will be different. on the hunt for a valentine's day outfit.

THE TOMGIRL SERIES | Be Mine

H E A L T H

three days ago i realized how out of shape i was. my diet has been pretty healthy, so my weight has not gotten too much out of control, but last year's business with the show (video to come soon) left me pretty inactive. 

this year is about loving my body again, get it back to what it was two years ago.

i started looking up apps to help keep me on track. i went through 2 exercise tracking apps and 3 diet based apps before i found something that work for me. sports tracker and my fitness pal.

seriously, my fitness pal is fantastic. its thorough and user friendly, and has a barcode scanner on it so you don't have to type in all the nutrient facts. if i eat more than one serving size, i can change the number and it will calculate the calories and what have you. (okay done sounding like an infomercial--back to your regularly scheduled program.

i also decided to start doing exercise routines via youtube. i decided to go with circuit training. its 45 minutes long. the first day i only got through twelve minutes. the second day i made it to twenty. i am so uncool.

julian 2. me a depressing 0.

G R E Y

i love a good grey, stormy day. 

when it bleeds out the colors of the trees and flowers, vibrant tones hushed by the steady fall of rain. the sky hoards it all above the clouds. 

it cannot contain the color and at dusk it blushes at its failed attempt to swallow up the reach of the sun.