Breaking News:Sporadic Writing Explained

Happy New Year to all!

(hey mom...I know you've been waiting)

First, let me explain, as best I can, my sporadic writing. Here is the back story: Some time ago I was in the presence of a fairly new bride (less than a year in the game) who had just had an argument with her husband. Her husband was no where around, but she was speaking with several others about the beef that they had. I remained silent, but in that moment I remember thinking, "Why isn't she talking with her man about this?" I vowed that once I was married, that the exchanges between my husband and I, for better or for worse, would remain between us. Let's say hubby and I have an argument about (fill in the blank) and we both get angry. Once my anger has faded and I have forgiven him for (fill in the blank), I would hate for my family/friends/blog readers/random lady at grocery store to look at him sideways. It is my responsibility to protect his credibility, and him mine. In fact, after he caught up on my blog yesterday we had this very conversation. We even chuckled about something I would NOT write on the blog.

I'm not saying it is going to be like this forever, but as a new bride who's vocation requires a good measure of confidentiality, I'm not quite sure what to write about. I could write about my new neighborhood, but there isn't much happening here. I could write about my new (beautiful) chocolate brown and seafoam curtains, but that's about all I could say about them. I could write about my "wedding fifteen" that I gained, but since I'm down three and this weight will soon be history, there's no story here. Oh, oh, oh, I know...I'll write about my new iPad!

Checking In...

I don't have much time to write, but I just wanted to stop by and check in. This has been a wonder-filled, event-filled week.

The week started with an awesome worship experience at the Union Baptist Church in Morristown. Even before the welcome to visitors I had been bathed in the presence of the Holy Spirit who was obviously uninterested in the fact that I had on very black mascara.

On Tuesday I started classes and I'm pretty darned excited about the semester.I have some heavy hitting professors: Morris Davis for Church History 2 (who's got intellectual swag like none other), Traci West (ethicist par excellence), Althea Spencer Miller (ill Bible scholar with a West Indian flair), Gary Simpson (preacher's preacher), and Maxine Beach (the dopest Dean I've ever had).

I've run five (yes, one, two, three, four, five) times in between classes and work. I've made pro status in Wii bowling. And, since the scales don't lie, I've lost five (yes, one, two, three, four, five) pounds since the beginning of the year.

I've also chatted with friends, cooked and eaten foods made with the freshest of ingredients, slept, fought off a cold, and watched a few episodes of Law and Order SVU. In many ways, I feel like I'm living the balance I talked about at the beginning of the summer. It feels good. And when I look in the mirror I see my glow. It's coming from the inside. I don't know about you, but for me, when I take care of myself, my whole self, I tend to glow. In all honesty, I had lost it. Thanks be to God I'm getting it back, more resplendent than ever, as I wrap things up at Drew.

Well, that's all for now. I've got to go stir my homemade chicken and shells soup before getting into my homework for the week. Until next time, be well!

Baby it's Cold Outside...

It is 29º and I am about to go walking. Why, you ask? (amid thoughts of "girl, are you crazy, it's below freezing" and "you must smoke that good CRACK.") Well, because among other things, I committed this year to taking care of myself in the midst of book reading, thought thinking, and paper writing. So far, so good. I hit a couple of bumps in the road when big papers were due, but for the most part I've kept my workout schedule even when I traveled to South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee. I've lost 15lbs since September and I'm halfway to getting my body to feel and look like it did when I attended my orientation at Drew 2.5 years ago. I'm doing it slowly and surely. I am cooking more, and eating less (using a salad plate for dinner)but I haven't gone to any crazy extremes. I tried, but I love food—rich food—too much! (In fact, I'm still eating my Atlanta Bread Company chcolate chip cookies because I loooove them so much!)

Oh, I almost forgot...Back to being outdoors in the freezing cold. I could go to the gym. We even have an indoor track on campus. But the gym bores me. Plus I could be in the gym for 6.5 minutes and feel like I've been there forever. For me, there is something about being outside—beholding the beauty of God's creation, breathing fresh (albeit cold) air, seeing people, scouting out deer (and being afraid when I see them), and the change of scenery (even when you walk down the same block two days in a row). So, I will head outside. Perhaps the wind died down some from yesterday. That is my prayer. Also, as much as the gym bores me—it is my safe haven when it is raining and/or snowing. It will be the place to be when the winter really sets in. Plus, there are squash courts at the gym. Squash makes me happy (even though I look crazy playing and I play by my own rules).

And I'm into alternative exercise these days. I'm not talking pole dancing classes (which are all the rage, but the womanist and Jesus in me won't let me do it). I've taken to hula-hooping lately. I'm not talking about hula-hooping like we used to do it on the playground back in the day. (OK, maybe I was one of those Black girls who couldn't hula-hoop back in the day, but watch me now!) The motion is the same, but I dare some third-grade sassy girl with asymmetrical afro puffs to try to work with the hoop I have. For one, its giant. (But hey, I'm a big girl now. Plus experts say adults should use bugger hoops than kids.) Secondly, it is weighted and has these massaging/digestion aiding thingies (several advanced degrees later I still use the word) on the inside of the hoop (see image above). I hula-hoop while listening to my Rock Steady Radio station on Pandora. I hula-hoop while watching Law & Order reruns. I hula-hoop while visioning my future. I hula-hoop. In 2010—watch out world—thanks to a generous Christmas present from my momma (why my mom cannot keep secrets about gifts is yet another blog) I will be Wii and Wii Fitting it to good health.

But until then, I'm heading out to walk and breath. But first, let me put on my thermal underwear and headphone earmuffs. Baby, it's cold outside!

Think on these things...

I came across this Haiku written by Sonia Sanchez yesterday. It is from the book titled, Like the Singing Coming Off the Drums. Think on these things...

what is done is done

what is not done is not done

let it go...like the wind.

Winter Time

(I'm writing this blog when I should be working on my 20 page Christology paper that is due tomorrow of which I have zero, yes I said zero, pages written)

Winter is here. It is official. And I hate it. With a passion. I know there is a reason and purpose for every season under heaven, but I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the bitter cold and bareness of winter. It reminds me of death. I fancy myself more of a life girl.

I went to DMV this morning. I put two hours on the meter because, well, I went to DMV this morning. To my surprise I spent all of 3.5 minutes in the DMV office. Not only was my visit short, but the clerk who waited on me was pleasant. For a moment I had to look around and make sure I was really at the DMV and not in a parallel universe.

I spent some good time with my mom this weekend. When I was growing up she never let me sleep-in or nap. In fact, she'd wake me up for phone calls. (Even calls from Courtney to talk about the same boy we'd talked about an hour before and were guaranteed to talk about an hour after.) But this weekend she cooked some good food (okay, great food), we watched movies, and she even let me sleep when out of nowhere my eyes could no longer stay open.

While talking about movies...we watched The Proposal. Another romantic comedy. I have a problem. I'm supposed to be laying off the the genre altogether, but I'm having a hard time getting clean. The sad thing is, I sometimes expect life to end like my favorite romantic comedy. I am usually (ok, always) sorely disappointed when that doesn't happen.

That brings me to where I started. The truth is I'm having a hard time writing this paper because I'm tired and disappointed and hating winter and feeling stuck. I know I won't stay here, but until I get up and out, if you know the words (and the worth) of prayer, I ask that you have a little talk with Jesus on my behalf.

I am alive and well

and sleepy and praising God and full of good information and thinking about applying to a phd program and loving the church where i serve and understanding that i am right where i am supposed to be and that i must write where it is that i am and excited about my week off from classes and overwhelmed by the amount of work i have to do and afraid to go to the library because it is like a dungeon and glad that i went to the dungeon in my building to do my laundry today and about to go into my roommates room and sip tea and stare at the television until it is time to go to bed.