Day 2: A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

Callie & I. I've known her since birth til death do us part.

Day 1 Photo Challenge

Day 1: A picture of yourself with 15 facts

1. I DON'T like chocolate.
2. I plan on being an OB/GYN. If all else fails, maybe medical or cultural/gender anthropologist. Still in process..
3. I am NOT a Biology Major just because I'm a pre-med student. I am an ANTHROPOLOGY MAJOR. Not Biology. Not Biology.
4. Phở is my favorite food. It's the best thing ever created in a kitchen.
5. I'm an over achiever with a little bit of perfectionist.
6. I'm thinking of being a Spanish Minor! Hurray por español!
7. I like dancing. I dance at any give moment, and even mentally dance while sitting or driving.
8. I'm a mommy if you haven't noticed....
9. I like being alone sometimes & LOVE shopping alone.
10. I play the flute & clarinet!
11. I always wanted to be a ballerina or olypmic gymnast but never followed that dream. To me, it's not a real career because you get old & they don't want you anymore. Only a hobby.
12. I'm going natural with my hair! It's pretty scary knowing what my curly hair actually looks like.... Those hair genes are fighting with each other as we speak.
13. “Suerte que mis pechos sean pequeños y no los confundas con montañas.” Haha. Es la verdad.
14. I plan to travel the world and it will be da bomb. Just saying…
15. I’m a raging liberal. I believe in freedom for all people & progressive change! It is the future. Can’t keep everything like 1776…

30 Photo Challenge

I think its about time for yet another challenge.... Oh leh do it!

1.A picture of yourself with 15 facts
2.A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
3.A picture of the cast from your favorite show
4.A picture of your favorite night
5.A picture of your favorite memory
6.A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
7.A picture of your most treasured item
8.A picture that makes you laugh
9.A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
10.A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with
11.A picture of something you hate
12.A picture of something you love
13.A picture of your favorite band or artist
14.A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
15.A picture of something you want to do before you die
16.A picture of someone who inspires you
17.A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
18.A picture of your biggest insecurity
19.A picture and a letter
20.A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
21.A picture of something you wish you could forget
22.A picture of something you wish you were better at
23.A picture of your favorite book
24.A picture of something you wish you could change
25.A picture of your favorite day
26.A picture of something that means a lot to you
27.A picture of yourself and a family member
28.A picture of something you're afraid of
29.A picture that can always make you smile
30.A picture of someone you miss

Dear Mia,

You're finally two years old.

It seems like yesterday you were a little, pink blob with black fur that just laid there, slept and laughed occasionally. Now you're a tall, skinny, extra long furry little girl who talks to me, makes me laugh, has inside jokes with me and actually human! It still amazes me that you have half of my DNA coding your life. I know it's nerdy but that's what I think when I see you. My half of my genetic is keeping you alive and growing.

I like how you have my sense of humor. The world is funny to you and I'm glad you see it that way already. Sure, you seem to have a very bad & stubborn temper, but what two year old doesn't? Some people may think its crazy or strange that you don't hold my hand when we walk unless you feel the need to. To me, I trust you enough to not run off and fly down some stairs. You always make sure I'm close behind, and if I'm not, you pull me along side.

You're growing up too fast for me to handle, Mia. You didn't even cry for the first time at the doctor since you were 7 months old! You also got your finger pricked and just sat there. I see you have your Mommy's high pain tolerance. =]

Instead of me tucking you into bed, you give me a good night kiss and say "love you". You grab my hands and lead be to dance. You feed me and wipe my face clean. You sing your little heart out all the time. (I guess you get that from my car singing when you were in my belly) It's nice see you grow up but then again, it scares me. In 2 years, you'll be in Pre-K/kindergarten, I'll be graduated from Emory and who knows were we'll be headed or what life will throw at us.

There's so much I want to teach you. So much and so little time before you think I'm an annoying mama who just wants to be cool and you won't listen to me again until you're 25. Until then, I'll try to teach you everything I know little by little, day by day. Eventually, you'll understand.

Love, Mommy

Buff, Fit & Fierce Raven! #2

So I've been eating fairly healthily & tracking all my calories on livestrong.com like CRAZY! Everything I eat & drink, I track. I think I'm addicted. It's like my new Facebook, minus the annoying statues, drunken photos of people or addicting games.

I've already lost a pound of winter fat! I do yoga with Mia, been drinking lots of H20, and sleeping more! (Which also helps you stay healthy & not gain weight)

What's really hard is to eat enough calories to NOT gain weight! Did you know you can GAIN weight if you don't eat at least 1000 calories a day?! Why you ask?? Because your body will hold on to all the calories & fats you DO eat because it thinks you won't feed it to survive.
So tracking my calories daily helps me try to keep up. Plus I don't eat much. Usually small amounts multiple times daily & I realized I barely reach over 1000 a day. I usually get up to 900 or 1050. Nothing over 1300 yet.

I just want to look nice, no back fat or cellulite. (Which I've never had in the first place)

I don't think I'll ever look like her because of genetics & my lack of Anorexia Nervosa:

But I can look black girl skinny! (But I don't think my thighs are going anywhere unless I stop using them.)

Until next time,

Ravie McHealthy-Pants

P.S. I'm not anorexic or bulimic everyone! No need to worry...

Buff, Fit & Fierce Raven!

I decided to be healthier this year.

Not as a "New Year's Resolution" because those never follow through, but a New Raven Lifestyle!

So I'm going to be eating healthier snacks & foods. I don't eat fast food all that often anyway, but the snacks in my house need to change! Besides, I never completed my goal of looking better than I did before I had Mia. I got to my "before I had Mia" body. Now time to surpass that! I'm not a fan fruit, to be honest. Well, sweet fruits. Tomatoes, grapes, mangoes, kiwi, strawberries, apples. Zucchini, okra, corn, peppers, etc., are all good to me, and yes, they are all fruit in the biological world. I'm not sure why, but I'll eat the face off of some vegetables! I just want to start eating more healthy snacks & what not.

I'll also start doing yoga before I go to bed & maybe if I wake up early. I loved it when I took it at school, even though I was huge & pregnant & my stomach swept the floor when we did some moves. It was still enjoyable & increases blood flow & flexibility!

(I'll be doing that one day)

On top of that, I think I'll actually start using my school's gym & pool. I pay the money to use the "recreation & health" facilities, why not put it to good use?! Plus, I love swimming now ever since I took the class. I guess its because I know how to look professional now while doing it & learned how to dive. =D

I will also be calculating my calories! Yes! And you can do it too!! At livestrong.com, you can keep record of everything. How long you exercise, how much you eat, what you eat, when you eat, how many calories you should eat daily, how many you've eaten monthly/weekly, how much weight you lost, and healthy recipes to try. It's nice. Give it a try!

Since I'm taking ballet at school, that will help sculpt my body back into the lean (yet extremely muscular), dancer bod I used to have. Plus I love dancing (jazz, contemporary, modern, anything but hip hop because I'm not black) & always wanted to learn ballet. Maybe I can actually try out for So You Think You Can Dance or that new Paula Abdul show & marry a cute dancer boy! (In my dreams) The only thing I'm not looking forward to is getting my booty back. =[

(Ahh... I remember those leaping days)

And most importantly, I am going to sleep more! This is going to be hard since I have an 8:30am class, which means I'll have to wake up at 5:30am to get ready to hit the highway & beat ATL morning traffic, but I'm going to try VERY hard.

So, who's with me for healthy faces?!

Au Natural sans le Chop #3

I've come to realize my hair is not coiled, but more of a tight wave. It looks like her hair when dry... Yeah... more like this girl. The edges of my hair tend to be more coily than back & forth tight waves.

Thanks Mom & Dad for your mixed heritage. Sometimes I wish my ancestors weren't stolen & sold by their rulers so I'd alteast have an idea of what ONE type of curl pattern I'd have. Not an array of mess!

One hair will be fairly straight. One hair will be slightly wavy. Another, coiled. Another, wavy coiled. Pretty much a bunch of beta pleated sheets & alpha helices mixed together for you biology people out there.

Now my head is about half Africa, half chemically burned đu-đu. And yes, I do mean it looks like a chemically burned papaya if I ever saw one because I imagine it would look horrible... Just like my hair. I have no clue how to deal with it now. Before, it wasn't nappy enough to notice the differences. Now, if I put it in a pony tail, my head has waves & my pony tail is straight. Its AWKWARD!

Eh... But I guess that's the life of living in a Western dominated world. You have to have straight hair, skinny, and light skinned to be accepted in the world. But now that more black people are getting rid of the creamy crack, then maybe big fros will be the NEW HOTNESS!

Let's hope so because my little fro is NOT the new hotness....