*Sigh* Ahh Spring. One of the more anticipated seasons of the year. The sense of a new beginning consummates with the bewitching, temperate weather, creating an almost idiotic, leisurely like feeling to those individuals caught in it's grasp. It's kind of hard not to be entranced by the spell Spring casts. The birds chirping, the breeze fluttering through the trees, the hum and excitement of an outdoor festival. I walked out of the subway one day and the Cherry Blossom trees were raining petals all over the city. I wanted to throw my arms out and spin. Not so much a Jennifer Love Hewitt, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" spin, but a "Got myself a yummy vanilla ice cream cone, "Shinny Happy People" by R.E.M. is playing in the background, J.K. Rowling's writing a Harry Potter prequel: The Marauders years series kind of spin. The qualities of Spring are a melody creating a catchy tune. And trust me when I say, I love that song.
As the temperatures rise, so do the hem lines and the need for blatant flirtation. The affects of mating season can be seen working it's magic all over the city. Pheromones are spreading in an outbreak and the mammals are powerless to stop it.
Let Owl explain...
Sitting in union square these days is like watching a discovery channel special.
" The male and female lock eyes, each making the other aware of their presence. After gazing with deliberate concentration, the female arches her brow in invitation. Or, is it a challenge? The male, accepting this gesture, slowing and cautiously makes his way over to the female. He utters a comedic ice breaker. Wait for it... wait for it... and the female accepts with a smile and witty rebuttal. The courtship begins. Notice how the female cocks her head to the side in a curious dare. The male, always up for the challenge keeps direct eye contact. His eyes communicating more than his casual words. The female faces both feet towards the male as he arching his body towards her. Oh my goodness, they both have taken out their cellphones, I believe and number exchange is taking place. With polite smiles and nervous hand gestures they depart from one another. The female strutting wild fire down the path with and extra sway in her hips, just in case he's still watching. The male finally turns away, walking in the opposite direction with a "Big Pimpin" grin residing on his face."
I myself am not immune to the twitterpation vulturing around. My eyes can't seem to stop themselves from wandering after handsome strangers when they walk by me. I find myself getting up a little earlier to make sure I have the proper outfit and the right application of lip gloss on before heading out. Casual conversations while waiting on the "Don't Walk" sigh to tell us otherwise have turned enticing. It's like "Did I just giggle? Where did that giggle come from? What he said wasn't even funny." Hmm interesting... very interesting. The mating dance: a million people electric slide that's a comedy to watch and down right difficult not to join.
Spring gives me a since of renewal. It seems like a time to cleanse yourself of all the buildup that you accumulated over the last year. Lately, I've been feeling a bit... crowded. My mind feels crowded with thoughts of my path in life. My body feels crowded with weight that I am fighting to reduce. Even my closet feels crowded with clothes that don't fit, that I don't wear, but I hold on to them. After discussions with friends and research, I've decided to do a spring detox on my life. For 2 weeks I'm going to do a clean sweep of certain aspects of my life and toss out what I don't need. I want to make room for all the extraordinary things that I know are coming to me. Does that make sense? Sometimes, I get on these little paths and get so involved and engulfed in the idea that I don't see that I'm making too much of a big deal out of them. In this case though, I feel confident that I'm doing something beneficial.
My Mind
Right now, even as I write, my mind is a jumble of thoughts about the future what leaps I am going to take toward it. Sometimes I stress myself out trying to plan and dig a path towards where I want to be in my life. My mother gave me some valuable advice when I discussed my not so set in stone future with her over the phone. She told me that I am always striving to get somewhere and I don't take the time to just appreciate where I am. She said that if I just sat and remembered all the wonderful blessings I already have that what I want, what I need to do will offer itself up to me. She has a wonderful mind, my mother... and she's completely right. Fate likes to play hard to get. Constantly pursuing the little vixen and trying to get information from her only leaves you frustrated. But, the moment you give fate a little space... there she is, making herself known and giving you ideas on which way you should turn. I want to just live in my moment for my detox. Just take the time and become aware of where I am... right now.
My Body
My weight has hit a bit of a plateau, neither going up or down. I've also started noticing my energy level taking a turn for the boring. I wanted to give myself a bit of a JOLT. I have a wonderful friend who did a two week detox with her diet and said it was one of the best things she ever did. So, I researched it. Of course, I had "skeptic" written all over my brain when reading the materials she gave me. Other people around me that I've seen go through a detox did things like only drink certain juices for a week or something along those lines. But, after reading I found this detox to be healthy and completely doable. My main goal for this detox is to cleanse my system of the toxins that saturate it and gain my energy and motivation back. Plus, its like a challenge that I couldn't resist. Knowing that I can do this and succeeding will be a wonderful accomplishment. I'm pretty pumped about it. The detox starts with a 2 day fast that's completely optional. When I first read the word "optional" in reference to the fast, my heart burst into song. I thought to myself "Well, OBVIOUSLY, I'm not doing that. But, then I thought F-it! If I am going to do this, I am going balls to the wall and I'm gonna finish this dominating all the obstacles in my way. Half-assing this is just not an option ( God please forgive me for the cursing but... half-tush or half -buttocking just doesn't have the same PUNCH to it).
I've started a blog on Tumblr that will document my detox process day to day. I will probably keep it after the detox is over to document things like my weight loss and recipes and such. So, if you are interested in following this detox cray-crayness, you can do so here :). The Pudge Diaries
My Space
I have a lot of crap. If you look through your closet and utter the words "Hmm.. I didn't even know I had that", then you have a LOT of crap. Some of these things, I don't even wear anymore. And others, I can't fit into. I hold on to them hoping that one day I can fit into them. I think its time to declutter my closet and other various make shift junk drawers in my room. Sometimes I wonder why I hold on to things I don't need or even notice. Oh well, who knows. It's definitely time to say goodbye to some of this stuff. And it's also time to stop putting pressure on myself to fit into an old skirt that I don't even like all that much. Stacy and Clinton from "What Not To Wear" would have a field day with me. Peace out old black one strap mini dress. You cut my boobs at a weird angle and it's time to let you go. *Sigh* That felt good.
With the need to clean up the junk in my life, I also developed the urge to "detox" another surprising area. My hair. As some of you might know, last August I decided to stop chemically relaxing my hair to make it straight. My natural hair is kinky, curly, twisty and I wanted to embrace that. Growing up in the south. Wearing your natural hair without relaxers or other such chemicals was frowned upon. If you wanted to fit in and avoid names like "Buckwheat" or "Nappy head", you got a relaxer. Basically:
Society if you have a relaxer
Society if you DON'T have a relaxer
Or, at least that's how it felt. When I moved here I wanted a change. So I decided to grow out my natural hair until it hit a reasonable length. Then I would cut off my relaxed straight ends and be completely natural.
Example picture. The curly hair is her natural hair. The straight ends are her relaxed hairs. To achieve this length I would say it may take a year or more depending on the person. I planned to grow my hair for over a year without cutting it because I didn't want short hair. I was self conscious about my size and having short hair. Once again, I was worrying about pleasing everyone else. So, in keeping with the whole "cleanse" deal, and basically kind of "sticking it to the man" sort of mentality, I woke up on Monday and decided "WHO CARES". This is your hair, your perception... get rid of the relaxed ends and become natural RIGHT NOW! So...........
5 Women Who Needed To Let Go
1). Issa Rae from "Awkward Black Girl"
If you aren't watching "Awkward Black Girl" you should really rethink that choice. This is an wonderful show and I urge, beg you to watch it. The main character is so funny and I found myself drawn to her personality as well as her "Let it all go" haircut that you witness in the first episode. Click on the link, tap episodes and watch. Trust me. Awkward Black Girl
2). Felicity
I remember watching this scene with my friend and we thought she was sooo cool. It took alot of guts to get rid of her envious trait and I commend her for it. I really miss this show.
3). Empire Records
Love this movie! So much said about this character from this one scene. She wanted to rebel and shed her demons and I get that.
4). Bernadine "Waiting To Exhale"
After 11 years of marriage, her husband cheated on her. She set his car on fire, then started a path to get her life back. This also included getting rid of her long beautiful locks.
5). Rapunzel "Tangled"
If you have scene this movie, you know that the scene where Rapunzel looses her golden locks is one of the most heartwarming scenes in the movie. It may be dorky but, I found it so inspiring the first time I saw it.
Love Always,
The girl who can no longer whip her hair back and forth.
