FYI

I have a new calendar and it can be viewed by clicking on the Miss Nikki Ann's Calendar link located to the left of the screen. With this new calendar you can add the events you want me to know about or print my calendar all in on easy click. Just scroll down to the end of my calendar to view the Add Event and Printable View buttons. And feel free to add birthdays or any other things you'd like me or others to know about. The calendar also features local Connecticut weather. Note how it'll be 42 degrees tonight! I love it!

And for those computer savvy people, there is and XML link on the calendar if you feel the need to subscribe to it. I just love XML and stuff!

Gotta run Isom to playgroup--we're late!

The Volvo C70 Convertible

Correction: Actually the Volvo C70 convertible was My Dream Car until I had Isom; at that point I had to choose something more suitable for my small family.

Hey, I'd like to have both cars!

But I am a firm believer that a person with one ass only needs one car. LOL

But here's to the C70 convertible: You'll always be my first love.

A Healthful Laugh

A Healthful Reminder

FORGIVENESS is a big part of mental/physical/emotional/spiritual well-being. Today, try to forgive one small thing. If someone cuts you off in traffic don't let your road rage take over, release it and decide to utilize your other option. Forgive that driver for being blind; busy; a tired mom with 3 yelling kids in the car; a truck driver trying to make ends meet; a high school student who thinks he/she is in a NASCAR race; a 90-year-old GREAT-grandmother who's still driving around town because her kids haven't got the heart to seize her license...

Let it go... Just for today. Just this once. And see how much better you'll feel mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

And most of all: FORGIVE yourself...

FORGIVENESS
A step to better health and wellness

Sir in the hat Miss Leslie, his swim instructor, made for him.

SEX

So much negativity projected into one beautiful act...

My Dream Car

The Volvo XC90

Hey, even The Pope knows a good car when he sees one!

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was forced to give up his rather secular ride, a 1999 Volkswagen Golf, when he became Pope Benedict XVI. Feeling bad for the old guy, Volvo handed over a set of Volvo XC90 keys to His Holiness yesterday. The SUV is dark blue with a light-colored interior, which doesn't really matter much since the Pope only goes mobile in the patented Popemobile that can deflect bullets and survive bomb blasts. As far as we know, Volvo's don't deflect bullets or survive bomb blasts very well, so perhaps the Bishops can use the XC90 for late night pizza runs.

[Source: SwedeSpeed]

Once a Volvo lover, Always a Volvo lover...

A Healthful Reminder

We've got to do it. People, we've got to do it. Ya gotta floss. I know-I know it's one of those tedious tasks that you'd like to skip in order to get to bed faster or move on with your day. In an ideal situation you'd floss 2-3 times a day. But hey, Mr. Tooth up there would be happy if ya did it at least once a day. For those of you in romantic relationships, it's not an option. You can't hand out wet kisses if you haven't removed the plaque and crap from in between your teeth.

Anyway, flossing and diabetes are bi-directionally related. Meaning: flossing can lead to diabetes and diabetes can lead to dental problems. So take time to floss the same way you take time to brush (At least I hope all of you are brushing. I hope...).


Then run out a plant a wet kiss on someone; they'll appreciate the extra time you put into your oral hygiene.


Here's a bit of information from mayoclinic.com:

Dental care and diabetes: Guide to a healthy mouth

You must take special care of your mouth when you have diabetes, especially your teeth and gums. Follow this advice to avoid serious complications.

When you have diabetes, elevated blood sugar levels can damage many parts of your body, including your mouth and teeth. Diabetes increases your risk of gum disease, cavities and tooth loss, dry mouth, and a variety of oral infections.

Conversely, poor oral health can make your diabetes more difficult to control. Infections may cause your blood sugar to rise and require more insulin to keep it under control.

In addition, diabetes can diminish your ability to taste sweets. Although this change may not be noticeable, it can influence your food choices in favor of additional sweeter tasting foods, thereby affecting your dental health, as well as your ability to control your diabetes.

Awareness of potential oral complications from diabetes will improve your chances of maintaining a healthy mouth and sound teeth.

My life through my eyes...

A Healthful Reminder

Go ahead! Pour yourself a glass.

I drink mine warm or at room temperature.


But if you prefer, ice cold water isn't a bad option either.


So pour. Drink up.


For those non-water drinkers, just adding one 8 oz. glass to your day can make a difference. All it takes is baby steps.

So pour... And enjoy!

Cookie Day

It's Wednesday and I'm eating cookies. Cookies, cookies, cookies. I love cookies. I love CHOCOLATE cookies. Heck, I just plain'ole luvs me some chocolate. C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E. What's that spell? Chocolate! I'm on a chocolate cookie high. Soaring. Savoring. Looking at the last 5 cookies. 5 cookies out of the original 12.

Costa Rica 1998: A Look Into The Past

In January of 1998 I set out on a grand adventure. I studied abroad in Costa Rica, and traveled to Panama, and had one of the most memorable times of my life. The above photo is of a beach in CR named Manuel Antonio.
This is one of the spots we frequented most and was a long bus ride away from San Jose where we were staying. I can remember our first bus ride there; I looked at this older Costa Rican woman and wondered why she was wearing a scarf on her head (like we black women do back home). Once the ride got underway and the dust started kicking up on this non-airconditioned bus, I got it! When we arrived at our destination, I had a thick, white coat of dust covering my body, clothes and hair (after that I always wore my scarf during bus rides). It was an adventure. Along the way I spotted crocodiles and our bus drivers always drove fast and close to the outer edge of the mountains--without railing.

At certain points the elevation in Costa Rica is so high that you ride through and above the clouds. I actually had the privilege to have this experience and there aren't enough words for how I felt about being able to stick my hand outside and touch the clouds. Exhilarating. Here are some Costa Rican cloud pics (I have no idea who the people in the pics are):



This woman is actually riding in the clouds.


These people are so high up (11,345 feet above sea level) that they are ABOVE the clouds.


When you visit the rain forest or cloud forest in Costa Rica, you've gotta wear covering because you come out wet.


Back to Manuel Antonio.. This was also the place where I spotted my first sloth. For those who aren't acquainted with these exotic and freaky-looking beings, here's a pic:


They have the sweetest grins on their faces and they move unusually slow.

The scary part is their long claws, and we all imagined how fast they'd actually move if they wanted to do us harm.

I hadn't known about sloths until venturing to Costa Rica, so when my friends first spotted them in a tree I looked up and jumped back and said, "What the fuck!?" I promise, those were my exact words.


In Manuel Antonio monkeys roam the beach and are always trying to take your belongings. The following picture isn't very clear, but it's a monkey trying to steal a beach-goers water bottle.


And there are plenty of iguanas roaming the beaches as you attempt to sunbathe.

Erica and Maria, remember Quepos?

Quepos was a bus stop on our way to Manuel Antonio. Speaking of bus rides... It's a long ride to Manuel Antonio and there's no access to a bathroom--not to mention that it's so hot that you MUST drink lots of WATER along the way. One trip I'd found myself on the verge of tears because I had to pee so bad. And if you do get to a bathroom folks can, and do, charge for tissue and bathroom usage.

Speaking of Erica... Girl, do these photos look familiar?


Um, remember that time you told me there was a faster route to our favorite spot on the beach? Remember how you dragged me through the woods (past sexy, bare chest natives riding--bare back-- on horses and carrying machetes) only to reach the spot you see in the first photo above this paragraph? We were to the right side of that rock and you told me our spot wasn't far away on the left side of it. We walked and we walked until there was no sand to walk on and we had to wade/semi-swim (a sista ain't a good swimmer like Erica) through the DEEP part of the ocean and climb over that damn rock. The rock looked as if it were moving because hundreds of crabs we walkin' around with their precious shells on their backs! It scared the crap out of me as I tried to stay away from them. And please note the crashing waves in the first picture. Those bad boys were hitting us as I tried to wade/semi-swim to the rock. It was the most beautiful and frightening thing. I made it, but that didn't make it right. Once we reached the left side (the second picture) we still had to walk a ways in the water before reaching sand. When we arrived at our destination where our other friends were, we watched more beautiful native men playing soccer bare chest on the beach. Beautiful.

While in Costa Rica Erica and some others took the one trip that I didn't take for many reasons. They went to see Volcano Arenal:

This volcano is still active and its lava can be seen at night.

On the early morning of my departure day from Costa Rica, I was in bed when I felt my bed and the house tremble--I'd experienced my first earthquake (which is a big deal for an East Coast girl like myself).

Please note: The photos on today's post are not from my albums. Back in 1998 digital cameras were not heard of and folks had to use 35mm, and there ain't enough time in my day to scan and upload my own photos to this blog. I searched the internet for pictures of the exact locations that I'd visited (Example: Those sloths/iguana/monkeys are actually real Manuel Antonio sloths/iguana/monkeys. Example: Those beach photos are of the actual location that Erica and I had to tread through. You get my point. I wanted to make the experience as real and close to my own as possible.).

A Healthful Reminder

Instead of having three cups of coffee today, have two and switch-out the third cup with water.

Instead of chatting it up with your coworkers by the water cooler, ask Jennie, Bill or Bob to take a short walk on the stairs with you. And if they say no, do it by yourself.

Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs.

Park a tad bit further from the office door than usual.

And for those who need it, have something sweet today, it'll keep you from binging later on.

Lounging

Mom and dad took Sir with them to the grocery store. This gave me about an hour window to do some exploring outdoors. The wind is kicking up due to Tropical Storm Ernesto; it's gorgeous outside. It's about 60 degrees and there's a wonderful, crisp feel to the air (great for your lungs). After I'd made some great finds around the yard, I ran inside to get my camera so that I could share them with youz guys. Here goes:

Do you guys remember this pic I had up some time ago?
Well, mom and I thought this was a squash plant, but overnight it blossomed into these enormous leaves and giant balls. Um, pardon our ignorance, but this is actually a pumpkin patch growing in my father's garden from the pumpkin we threw out last fall! Here's what it looks like today...
If you look closely at the bottom pic, to the left you'll see a second pumpkin.

Here are some other great shots I got this morning...




Sir seems to be inheriting my mom and dad's green thumb. Everyday he runs to get a garden tool, and weeds the herbs around the tree. He's very drawn to the parsley and rosemary (as are the rabbits), and she yells at him all the time for pulling out the herbs instead of the actual weeds! And the rabbits? She doesn't bother them as they munch away at her hardwork. Hey, they've gotta eat too.

Anywho, today mom, dad and I are off to a family members wedding & reception. Sir will be spending the evening with his Auntie LuCiana and her rowdy bunch. Peanut and Thembi are off on some grand adventure. And Tony... He's at work. After that, who knows where he'll be. Gia is hosting a wedding at her house. As for my other Connecticut family members (those who aren't attending the wedding) and friends, I'm hoping they sit back and enjoy the relaxing storm that Ernesto will bring.

And I've finished just in time, as the three bears have just returned home. It's time for this Goldie Locks to sign off.