Dear Thursday

You suck!


What can I say?  I'm human (I think). LOL
Mrs. K

I'm thinking about babies

I remember when I was younger and first realized there were differences between races.  After this new found knowledge I decided that I wanted to adopt a child from every race.  I know I'm not the only one who felt this way, am I?

Anyway, after telling this to my mother she supported me but let me know that this was very expensive to do so I better study/work hard so I can make money in the future to accomplish this.  Mothers, I tell ya.  They use every opportunity to promote studying and working. 

So I wanted to revisit something I said earlier--"realized there were differences between races."  I actually remember when I first found this out.  Before I get into that, I will give you a some background information about me.

I was born in Jamaica where the majority of the people were black or "mixed up" so I did not pay attention to race.  Rather, I didn't even know it existed.  I believe this was commonplace for most Jamaicans.  Although Jamaica has mainly black people, I grew up with Chinese, Indians, Lebanese, Irish, etc. friends.   It was interesting because we all went to school together and race never came up.  The main differences that were pointed out were: who was the fastest runner, the smartest, the most fun, etc.  You get what I mean?

When I moved to NY at around age 11, I remember meeting an Italian girl in my class (she was also my cousin's friend).  Her and my cousin were both educating me about race and prejudice (since I hadn't heard the words before).  After she described to me what it was I asked her if she was prejudice.  I remember her smiling and saying "no silly, if I was we wouldn't be friends."  I remember still being puzzled but as time went on (and with experience) I started grasping what she was talking about.

At that age the more I understood the more I wanted to adopt a child from every race.  I think I was serious about this for a few years--being naive about cost and everything else.  I think I wanted to do that in hopes of bringing everyone together to show that people can co-exist thrive together despite their differences.

Now that I am a little older and a little less naive, I understand that it is almost impossible to do what I proposed above.  However I have discovered other ways for me to show that people can thrive together despite their differences, especially race.

My husband and I may not be able to afford to raise the United Nations but we can show love to others who are different from us.  My idea above is not completely out of my mind because if we strike it rich you may just hear about us in the news--The Crazy Family with 50 Kids from Different Nations.

OK, so 50 is an exaggeration.  Anyway, you may ask what does this post have to do with my title "I'm thinking about babies."  It's quite related actually.  I have been thinking about babies and family planning more lately.  I've been thinking about how many children we want to have? What will our kids look like?  Will they have my personality or my husband's or be completely different from us? How long will I stay home with them?  What kind of parent I would be?

Will all this thinking I guess I was reminded about my childhood wish to be a mother of all nations :)

Mrs. K

Update on my husband's birthday

The evening went mostly as planned: 

-He opened his gifts before we went to dinner and he really liked what he got.  He liked the flowers too and he agreed that it was sweet ;)

-I wore my black dress as planned.  I urged him to wear whatever he wanted and he joked that he will wear "basketball shorts" if I didn't help him pick something out (since he did not know where we were going).  Of course, I was happy to help but I would have been totally ok if he wore basketball shorts and a t-shirt.  Anyway, he didn't and he looked so handsome!

Note: I had to do some cropping because of the way some of the photos turned out--hence 2 different pics.

-We ended up going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  I made reservations before so there was no wait.  Of course he had the steak and I had the Spicy Asian Salmon. Yum!

-I did not blog or visited other people's blogs as promised.  Well, I posted his birthday plans and wishes then signed off.  That was tough.  Being the wonderful guy that he is, at the end of the night my hubby went to my blog and read what I wrote about his birthday.  He then proceeded to tell me that I had a few new comments.  He told me it was ok for me to check them out, but I did not want to.

-I listened to his complaints without interjecting and I decided I needed to do that more often.  I have a tendency to want to show people the other side of things when all they really want is someone to listen.

-We were full with appetizers, soups, main course and dessert from the restaurant so he turned down eating at his favorite ice cream place (Bops).  I was shocked.  He wanted to get ice cream from there for the longest.  I guess he has to wait till Christmas--just joking.  We will probably go some time next week.

-The night literally did end in fireworks.  As we were driving home we saw fireworks close to our home.  Now, I must confess that I did not plan that, but we were able to watch them together.  It was sweet.

Overall it was a great night.  Happy Real Birthday today my honey (although you're working).

Check out my previous post to see what I planned the day before.

Mrs. K

Departing the twenties with a bang

Written on 9/20/10 to be posted on 9/24/10.  Actual birthday is 9/25 but we celebrate on Friday.

This post is written to honor my best friend's birthday.  We met for the first time in college in 2000 (about 2 weeks after his 19th birthday).  Since then most of his birthdays have been pretty lame--no not because of me, but because of school or work.  This year he will again be working on his birthday.

I look sleepy but he looks good so I still posted it

Because my best friend is the most important person in my life, I want to make it extra special for him (as I try to do every year).  He is quite simple and does not require much which makes me want to do even more.  I must say that I have the best husband in the world and I truly mean that.  Since he will be turning 29 years old I figure it would be good to end his twenties on a very memorable note.

I'll also preface this blog by confessing that I am the world's worse gift giver.  I feel bad for our kids in the future.  Knowing that I'm not so good at picking out gifts, I've created a word document of My Husband's Wishlist.  Each time he mentions that he wants/likes something, I put it on the list.  I also cross out items as I go so I don't duplicate things.  He on the other hand is very thoughtful in his gift giving.

Anyway, I've been brainstorming for a while about what to do.  We are limited in finances and time, so I had to take this into consideration.  Of course, I would love to fly us to Nicaragua or Romania (2 places he has visited alone and he would love for us to go back together), but we can't.  At least, not right now--maybe in a few years.

I will list some of my thoughts and ideas to help me get organized (in no order):

   1. I thought about making dinner (as he loves my cooking) but since we will be celebrating this Friday after work I figured it would be best if we go out to eat.  I'm contemplating Ruth's Chris Steakhouse vs. Ajay's.  He loves a good steak.

   2. I'll allow him to wear what he wants without me fussing--even if it's basketball shorts.  However, I plan to wear a hot black dress to make him be proud to say "that's my wifey."  I bought the dress months ago for a special night like this one.  I'll also wear my hair out (all natural and wild)--he prefers it that way.

His favorite outfit--something comfy

   3. My honey loves ice-cream (I think that's inherited because so does his dad).  I have been turning down his request to get ice cream for the past few weeks.  I've decided to include getting ice cream from one of his favorite places (Bops) as a part of his birthday activities.  That may be his favorite part of the day.

   4. I will listen patiently to all his complaints about work without interjecting with my own complaints.  I won't cringe when he starts talking about trucks, hunting, or guns.

   5. Pick up Tungsten wedding ring that he wanted.  We got him a cheap wedding band for our wedding.  With his job he is always washing his hands so we were afraid he would lose it so we got something cheap.  He has proven that he can hold on to his ring, so it's time to upgrade.

   6. Ok, being the sweet country man he is, he wouldn't mind only getting a pocket knife for his special day.  I hate getting them for him and I have refused to get them the last few birthdays but I guess it's time to bring them back.  I have to remember that it is not my birthday, it's his!

   7. I'm thinking about throwing in a professional massage but we will see.  If the budget does not allow, I may need to get creative and do one myself.

   8. So, this is not a birthday gift, but he will be getting it about one week after his birthday.  He's selling his old truck and will hopefully pick up his new truck soon--2011 Toyota Tundra.  He is super duper excited about this.  I'm excited to see him so excited.  It's like Christmas for him.  I can't wait to see the look on his face when he actually drives off the lot with it.

   9. A funny card works for him.  I like sweet, deep, sensitive cards but he doesn't therefore I will get him what he likes.  I will go to the humor section and find a hilarious card (preferably one with an animal on it too).

  10. He'll call it "gay" when I give him flowers and I'll call it sweet.  I do that occasionally and I think deep down he finds it sweet (or at least that's what I tell myself).

  11. Give my undivided attention.  I will not blog or even thinking about blogging.  Well, I will try not to.  He does not mind me blogging but I do see where sometimes he would prefer my attention and not me saying "give me five more minutes, no ten minutes" which turns into an hour.  He's so patient.

  12. We will have to end the night early so that he can get up the next day on time for work.  Regardless the night will end with fireworks ;)

Picture credit

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY HONEY BUNNY!!!

Mrs. K

We are big green monsters from a different planet

Looking funny is a tough thing to deal with in today's world.  If you don't look like everyone else you are out of luck.  What's even more challenging is being an interracial couple.  If you think funny looking people get all the crazy stares, think again.  Mixed couples and families get them too.  I have been the lady half of a mixed couple for the past 10 years and I can tell you, it has been interesting.

Of course to hubby and I, we just love each other, have a lot in common, and communicate pretty well with each other.  These are some things that are important in any relationship.  To some people, we are like big green monsters walking around with like a large yellow eyeball and wearing bright red lipstick.  We can't blend in or go in disguise.

Big green monster with yellow eye ball minus bright red lipstick

What alerted me to write this post was two recent consecutive visits to Sam's Club.  Note that I am not upset while writing this, I am just noting my thoughts and reactions.  I'm not angry, I actually think it's quite interesting and somewhat funny.

So, we live in one of the southern states in the US (not that the reaction would be much different in the northern states).  We visited Sam's Club about a week ago so we can stack up on some goods, since I detest food shopping.  With all the stares that we got, you would have thought we were some famous celebrity (like Dolly Parton--lol), or rather two strange creatures from a different planet (like the green monsters mentioned above). 

We got stares from the "normal" looking folks and other funny looking people.  I thought it was particularly hilarious when a dwarf looking person (no offense) and his very tall wife of the same race was staring.  It's so funny because we were staring at them too.  I bet they were probably saying, "well heck, we look normal compared to them."  And trust me, we were saying the same thing.

I know that people stare for various reasons including: curiosity, to give approval/disapproval, to intimidate, or to find a defect in either of us.  I'm sure there are other reasons too that I did not mention.  Regardless of the reason, I think staring is kind of rude but as I said, I do it too.  I guess I try to do it in a more subtle way.  Most of the time we don't notice the stares unless it's very obvious. 

I usually respond by either staring back or exchanging a friendly smile (usually while waving).  I must confess that when the person is obviously rude, I do "unleash the beast" (as I mentioned before in my "about me" section).  My husband usually is very positive about the situation--he smiles boyishly and says, "honey we are superstars."  Every time he says this I laugh my butt off, because I know he really feels that way.  LOL.

I am not complaining because I know that things could be worse.  We could have been born a few years before and it would have been illegal for us to be married in our state.  Also, I know that this is a choice that we both made and we are both very happy with.  I just thought I would post about it since it's fresh on my mind. 

So what are your experiences? As an interracial couple/family, do you get stares?  How do you respond to the stares?  If you are not in a mixed family, do you stare?  If so, why?  I'm curious. 

Mrs. K

My First Blog Award...Yippie!

One Lovely Blog Award
I am so happy to receive this award.  Thank you very much Ms Baby Plan.  I enjoy reading your blog as well and I appreciate you giving me this award.  I was inspired by other women to write this blog and I am glad that I can now hopefully be an inspiration to someone else.  This blog is about my life in general, but I also try to focus on staying positive no matter the situation.  The title of my blog and the posts I write remind me to do this.  I also appreciate the support I get from fellow bloggers.

This award requires the winner to follow some points:

1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link. Again, thank you Ms Baby Plan

Wonderfully and Fearfully Made
The Sweet Bitter Life of an Igbo Princess
My Big Bumble
Marlie and Me
The Daily Life of Me
A-Musing
Tipa Tipa
Motivation Mama Drama
Quiskaeya
Life, after the aisle
I Am Mama
Making Mrs. Mauritz
Coco Divas
P.E.A.C.E
My Brown Baby


2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen. Done by comments.

Mrs. K

I'm so excited about my new pair of running shoes

Many of you know that I had a full house this past summer so I  traded my "fitness routine" for spending valuable time with my family.  I must admit that this was not too difficult for me to do. I gladly gave up exercising without much protest.  I also ate like a pig but we are not going to talk about that right now.  

After my mom and siblings left it was not too difficult for me to jump right back into exercising.  Actually, I stand corrected.  I wanted to and did start back regular exercising but it was VERY difficult for me to get back into a routine.  To be truthful, the first few days were torture.

It has been close to four weeks and I have been pretty consistent.  My goal is to workout on the weekdays (or 5 times per week) but leave the weekends for travel and other fun family/friends activities.  I must say that I have been successful so far.  

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I go to the gym in the early mornings.  Tuesdays and Thursdays I skip the gym to exercise in the evenings--either running outside, doing yoga, or a P90X video.  On the weekends, although I'm not formally exercising, I still try to stay active: doing house chores, yard work, washing dogs, going to park with dogs, go kayaking, etc.  I basically don't sit on my butt all weekend blogging and watching TV (although some days I want to).  

DIGRESSION: I do watch the Florida Gators football games on Saturdays but even then I'm not sitting, I'm usually jumping up and down like a mad woman.  It's difficult for me to sit and watch my favorite team play.  I guess when I stand I feel like I'm there.

Picture credit

Anyway, since I've started exercising regularly I've been feeling good.  The first few days I could hardly stay awake but now I feel so energized.  I particularly enjoy my morning workouts.  I decided to reward myself for being consistent hoping this would further motivate me to continue.  So, I got some new kicks.  I thought about getting the Reebok Run Tone but they were too expensive.  Has anyone tried the Run Tone?  Is it worth the price? I decided to get the New Balance N-Fuse 572 (see photo above).  

I ditched my morning routine today and went for a test run outside instead in my new shoes.  And...I like.  They are comfortable, light and my feet don't sweat too much in them.  I think I still prefer my other pair of running shoes because I'm used to them, but now I've got options!

Mrs. K