E is for Effort

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   Milton Salute

 E Is For Effort

 

So Milton left July 3 to report on July 4 for the Army JAG Corp.  We discovered the wonderful invention of Skype, but unfortunately it didn’t work for the two weeks he was in Fort Lee, VA.

 

Last Friday he arrived in Charlottesville, VA (his new home until the end of September).  The day after was Zero Day.  Anyone in their group interested in going Air Assault or Airborne must tryout.  It’s pretty much Boot Camp from he!!.  The goal is to weed everyone out and if you’re left breathing, standing and moving at the end of the day then you get a spot.

I’m not sure why Milton wanted to put himself through this torture, but he did.  Although he’s made progress, he’s not the strongest athlete.  I didn’t want him to get down about not making it so I told him in advance to think of it as extra credit instead of something you fail.

 

That morning around 7:30 my phone rings.  Milton calls and I can barely understand what he’s saying.  All I hear is deep breathing in the background.  Panting.  Out of breath.  Gasping for air.  I get worried and then he finally says “I made it!  I survived Zero Day!”  I was excited and overjoyed.  Once he caught his breath, I asked him about the process.

 

He said there were several times that he was going to stop because the exercises were just too hard for him.  There were also several times that the officers asked him if he was okay.  Milton said at the main point where we was going to walk away he thought of me, kissed his wedding ring and kept going. He said he wanted to do it for me/for us.  So now my happiness has turned into speechlessness as I realize the man that I married wants to do as much as he can to lead our family.

 

Once the final few men were left standing, Milton was told by the leaders that the effort and the will power he displayed to keep going is what helped him make it in the end.  It’s not always about being the best or the strongest.  Sometimes it’s about wanting it, going after it and not giving up. So, whatever you’re trying to accomplish in life, don’t be discouraged by those that appear ‘better than you’.  Strive for what you want.  Even when you feel like giving up, push a little harder because that little push may take you to the top!

July 2011

Wealth of Knowledge

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Cher

Wealth of Knowledge

None of us know everything about everything.  Most of know nothing about most things.  Some of us are full of things.  And a few of us know a wealth of information about one thing.

I found this last part to be true about a woman here in Louisville.  For the longest time I just knew her by the posts she’d put on Facebook.  Then I became intrigued by her through the photos she posted of various women in Louisville rockin’ out their own style. The more I paid attention to what she said, the more I was able to see the passion she possessed.  It wasn’t until a Zumba class a couple of weeks ago that I finally got to match the face behind the name.

Her name is Cherilyn and her group is called Derby City Naturals.  If you live in Louisville (or even somewhere else) you need to check out her blog and Facebook group.  It is one of the most thorough sites you’ll see dedicated to natural hair, hair products and just celebrating beautiful black women of all varieties!

Just this week I had a conversation with her about the very likely possibility of doing the Big Chop toward the end of summer.  She gave all types of wonderful advice and suggestions.  But the thing I appreciated best about our conversation is that with each statement, she would begin it with “For me, I….”  She never came across as being the end all be all for hair.  She solely talked about her personal experience and what she’s observed from others.

You can hear the thrill in her voice whenever she talks about natural hair and I can’t wait to see where all of her experiences lead her.  Whether it’s a national blog, advice column in a hair magazine or voice on a 9-1-1 emergency hair help line – her passion with be celebrated in a big way!

Derby City Naturals just celebrated their one year anniversary and tomorrow night they are having a Coils and Cocktails Event (see Events section of the Newsletter/website).  If you are currently natural, thinking about going natural or just love the idea, please come mix and mingle.  Cherilyn – thanks for being you!!

Miss Me Some You

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WeddingClose

 
Miss Me Some You

Sometimes you don’t know what you’re truly missing until you actually have it in your life.  That’s how I’ve felt these past two month being married to Milton.  As an only child, I always felt that I could be a strong, independent female that could roll solo and conquer the world.  And while that wasn’t always such a bad thing, I also longed to have someone consistently by my side.

In walks Milton.  You never know how married life will be once the honeymoon is over.  Will we get sick of each other?  Will his snoring keep me up at night?  Does he know how to put the toilet seat down?  It’s all a mystery.  Milton and I had the entire month of June together – and I mean the ENTIRE month!  He didn’t work the entire month so that we could spend quality newlywed time together.  Wherever I went, he was there.  Zumba- check.  St. Stephen Family Life Center – check.  Grocery Store – check.  Bathroom – uncheck, lol!

And our month together was great.  We found shows that we both like to watch.  Enjoyed just being around each other and doing nothing.  We even found solutions to household things.  For example, Milton loves to cook, but not clean.  Well, I love to clean, but not cook.  Problem solved.  He hates folding clothes but doesn’t mind putting them in/taking them out of the washer/dryer. Wonderful.

Everything was going well and we were learning to love each other (and our differences) and then the 4th of July hit.  Yes, this holiday was one that I will never forget.  On Monday at 12:00pm, while everyone else was getting ready for their BBQs, my dear Milton was in Fort Lee, VA checking in for the first time as a US Army JAG Officer.  And while I was super excited for him, I was saddened that my best friend was gone.  I never really realized how much an important part of my life he was until I sat in our room and he wasn’t there.

Bad news is he won’t be back in Louisville until close to Thanksgiving.  Good news is that I can still go and visit during part of the time he’s in Charlottesville, VA.  So while he’s gone I’m getting involved with some new ventures and ways to keep Louisville healthy – more details about that coming soon!

Not Good Vision

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YTurnerMiami

Not Good Vision

     At first I was excited.  I won.  That’s right – two free tickets through Vision Airlines.  The new hubby and I planned a short weekend getaway to Miami.  I went on Vision’s website and saw that they only fly in/out of Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.   I called the 800# to arrange our flight and was told “the lady” that does this was not working on that day.  Excuse me?  I call back the next morning and she isn’t in yet.  I ask for a supervisor, they say she’s on vacation for the week.  As you can tell, I already seem leery about my flight.

     Eventually the reservations get made and we’re packed and headed to the airport.  As we walk up to the ticket counter, the sign says you must check in 45 minutes before your flight.  No problem, we are there an hour early.  However, nobody is behind the Vision ticket counter.  All the other airlines have workers.  I ask one of them for assistance and they go find someone to come and help us.

     Finally get checked in, to our gate and start to board.  They board from the back of the place so once we (in seats 7a & 7b) board, the entire front overhead compartments are full.We must put our things toward the back.

     Off we go – I will give them credit for giving us a full size back of either pretzels or Famous Amos cookies.

     Miami – simply  amazing.  Weather – simply hot.  Bonding time – cherished.  Time to fly back.  We check in and go to our gate for our 2:05 departure.  2:00 comes and there is no plane.  Not only is there no plane, there is nobody from Vision airlines at the gate to help anyone.  So we just sit there.  Plane finally arrives, everyone boards, and we once again put our carryon luggage even further back.

      While on the plane, one of the passengers says that they didn’t have her ticket printed so they HAND WROTE her a boarding pass.  Can you imagine trying to get through security with a handwritten boarding pass?  She said it was not an easy process.  The entire trip home I had vision of Southwest Airlines, oh how I miss thee!

      It was a free trip so I can’t complain a whole lot.  I know they are a start-up commercial company.  However, I miss the great customer service and communication that I receive with most of the other airlines.  Sometimes you get what you pay for – so just be careful.

They Make My Day

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 YTurner gym

They Make My Day

I have absolutely found a job that I love and even better, I am surrounded by some of the most amazing people.  I think the fitness business is one of my callings and each day look forward to the people I work with.

Monday night was a typical Zumba (Learn the Steps) Class at my Fitness Studio.  At the end of each class, we go around, introduce ourselves and get to know each other.  Our groups are always so diverse in age, ethnicity and background.  This night we had one young lady from Iran.  She had a heavy accent and said she had been in the states since January.  After class, she came up to me and said how nervous she had been for the past couple of months to come to a Zumba class.  She actually almost didn’t come.  After attending the class, she had the brightest smile on her face and talked about how welcome she felt and how nice everyone was.  She made me feel good because she showed that the energy, dedication and passion that Jessica and I put into our classes in seen by our wonderful participants.  And, my smile was doubled the next day when I saw her return for another class.

I spend the other half of my time at the Fitness Center at St. Stephen.  There are many people there that are “young at heart” (but not necessarily young in age).  I’ll never forget when Ms. “E” came to the gym for the first time (she’s over 70 years old). Several of her friends brought her.  She walked with a walker at a slow pace.  She wanted to try to use the seated elliptical.  As she sat down, it was painful for her to even move her leg into position to pedal.  She didn’t even have enough strength to push the pedal down.  I suggested she take it easy her first day and not to do more than her body could handle.  She instead went and walked/pushed herself around the track two times.

Spring forward a week later and Ms. E is sitting on the elliptical pushing the pedals down.  Week later, she has a full range of motion.  Weeks later, she’s doing multiple laps around the gym.  And each time she comes in, her smile gets a little brighter.  Here was someone so down on her health unable to do much of anything, now feeling on top of the world and celebrating all of her accomplishments.

Both of these ladies showed me that when times seem fearful and you feel you don’t have the strength to go on – don’t give up.  Sometimes you have to take that first step in order for blessings to come your way.  Remember, an object in motion stays in motion but you have to start moving first!

No Music for the Kids

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No Music For the Kids

There’s a summer camp for youth going on for the next couple of week (luckily, there are a lot of summer camps offered around Louisville!).  But, this one in particular asked me to do some exercises with the kids.  Sure!  Chelly Chell loves the kids! So, I put on my thinking cap for a fun way that kids could exercise.  When I taught, I used songs off the radio to do our exercise.  This sounds like a great plan for my current project.  Now, I admit – I am not ‘hip’ when it comes to today’s music.  I couldn’t tell you what the most popular tunes are right now.  Heck, I’m still jammin to “The Show”.   So, I went to Billboard.com and looked up the top 3 urban hits.  The songs seemed pretty catchy – until I looked up the lyrics and saw what they really said.  Here are the top three songs and some of the words:

Look At Me Now – Chris Brown

Lil n-gga bigger than gorilla cause I’m killing every n-gga that try to be on my sh-t.  Better cuff your chick if you with her, I can get her and she accidentally slip and fall on my d-ck.  Ooops, I said on my d-ck,
I aint really mean to say on my d-ck, but since we talking about my d-ck all of you haters say hi to it.

Roll Up – Wiz Khalifa

I try to stay out your business, but on the real you’re so obvious. And if you keep fitting me in your plans and f-ckin’ up, your man’s gonna catch onto us.  That white sand surrounding us. He be handcuffing, he should work for them officers. If you rolling I got a spot where I can put you on this medical, and send you home doctored up. You wanna ride with me cause you say that he boring.   Wake up you rollin’ weed, cooking eggs in the morning, ain’t scared to spend this money I know I’ll make more of it.

My Last – Big Sean

Ok, now where that alcohol, you aint even got to ask cause I’mma drink it all like, like its my last.  She a 7 in the face, but a 10 in the a$s. She even look better by the end of my glass.  See I just walked in fresher than the shirts off in this muthf-cka. I’mma, I’mma need a bad broad to twirk off in this muthaf-cka.  I’mma go hard till it hurts off in this muthaf-cka. I’mma ball so you gotta work off in this muthaf-cka.  The work, and I can get you anything you want I could, I could, I could, I could put you on.

So, as you can probably guess, I didn’t use any of today’s popular music for our exercises.  Yeah, I know there’s a clean version to most songs but the last thing I want is for young Andre to yell out the explicit words he knows.  Instead I brought back the wonderful “Planet Rock” where no words are necessary and all you need is a good beat! ROCK ON!!