Whooo saaaa! Detox, Reboot, Thrive.

I'm not one to ignore messages. How about you? When you read this post, consider whether you've been getting a message to do something to kick-start or reboot a particular thing in your life. And if this is another message for you, then I encourage you to act on it, because something beautiful is waiting for you on the other side of your journey.

When God uses His Universe to tap me on the shoulder via far-from-subtle messages delivered by various vessels, I listen. I might be stubborn, but I'm far from crazy, so when I feel the tap, I move, period! In this particular instance, the message came in the form of words from both my hubs (Kris) and a new friend for whom I've already developed a great deal of respect. More specifically, the words said: complete a liquid detox/fast.

Kris and I had more than ample opportunity to prove just how committed we were to staying married over the last week. We had several snags in the material that rocked us to our core, and really caused me to question whether or not we could work as a couple, long-term. He became frustrated with me, and I with him. The issue of separation came up, but just like the two other times in our marriage where the question arose, we maintained our commitment, and on the other side of it, we are stronger and more understanding of each other's "baggage". Besides, we always said that if we could trust each other (eg. no infidelity or other forms of blatant lies), then the rest should (in theory) be feasible. Thankfully, we were able to see past our egos and hurt feelings and remember our commitment.
Whew, I love my baby daddy!!

Anyway, he thought we should do something special to commemorate the hurdle we'd transcended over the past week, and I agreed. We've done fasts together before, and they usually consist of fruit/veggies only for a set period of time, but he felt the need to go a step further and only do a sort of liquid.

Kris: We should do something more, because we went through so much.
Me: That's true. We can use it as a form of sacrifice, not just for our marriage, but the direction our business is headed, and also as a form of gratitude because so many things are going so well right now.
Kris: Yep, let's do a juice fast for 7 days.
Me: "Um, juice as in only liquid? Nothing but liquid? *Scrunched eyebrows and pouted lips* No thanks, I have to chew things or I'll die. Good luck, though!

He was okay with that (not really), and we sealed the deal with a handshake. Bright and early Monday, fruit and veggies only, all the way until sundown on Sunday.

Later that day...

I get a call from a woman whom I'd recently met through her amazing husband, a long-time stylist and fashion expert, Novak. She and I talked on the phone the day before for hours on end (mind you, this was our first conversation), and I swear, I might love her!!! She home schools all 5 of her incredible children and she's her husband's business partner. Need I say more?! Bananas, right? Right! Anyway, she calls me to tell me that a group of her friends will be doing the Master cleanse and would love for me (and YOU, yes YOU!) to join them in their TEN DAY MASTER CLEANSE JOURNEY!

Me: Nothing but liquid? *Scrunched eyebrows and pouted lips* No thanks, I have to chew things or I'll die. Good luck, though!

Plus, how could I present something to my bloggy fam that I wasn't actually doing myself?! Moments later, after realizing the message, I was in. She wasn't pushy or even mildly persuasive as to whether I should do it. She simply explained why it was time for her to do it, and I saw me in her, and I was in. That was Friday, and now today, I officially began the "ease-in" process of fruit and veggies only for today and tomorrow, then fresh-squeezed citrus juice only on Thursday, and Friday, the cleanse offically begins.

Tanya and her team will even be doing three conference calls, the first of which will be this Thursday evening, to motivate each other through the process, and I'm so excited to take part! For me, this is about quieting and cleansing my insides in honor of my marriage, my business, and my Self! For others, it will kick off their weight loss (people typically lose 10-15lbs during the 10 days), so the reasons vary, and all are certainly valid. *Tapping on your computer screen* WILL YOU JOIN ME??

If you want to get on the ride, email me, or leave a comment, and I'll save your email address for instructions on how to get on the call, or just stay in the loop via email.

The recipe for the "detox lemonade" is posted below.
Delicious? No!
Palatable? Yes!
Purposeful? Yes!
Rewarding? Yes!
Discipline muscle training? Yes!
DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF! JOIN US. We start this Friday.
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Recipe for more than one serving (approx. 1gal.):

10 cups spring or purified H20

5 lemons (juice)

1 ¼ cup Grade B Maple Syrup

1 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you feel you have lots of mucus in your system)

Combine all ingredients in a large container and drink when hungry throughout the day.

Visit http://themastercleanse.org for tons of details!

Mommy Escapes: Sew Ready!

My mom always boasts about how she was wearing an outfit she made when she met my dad. As a teenager, I wished she would stop telling that "lame" story because after all, why would someone brag about wasting time making an outfit, when they could've just walked into a store and bought one...hellooo, duh!?" Fast forward about 15 years, and I'm wishing Mama 'nem still kept her sewing savvy, because I SOOOO want to SEW! I've been e-stalking my favorite wardrobe-related thing ever (besides shoes, of course), jumpsuits, and I decided that I am not only going to salivate over them in magazines, I'm going to make them! Nope, not the farmer-in-the-dell type of denim doodads, but the Sexia-dan-a-mug, show-off-all-my-best-assets-in-a-tasteful-way, type of digs.

KIND OF LIKE THIS:

 

 

 

 

I can SO see myself sashaying with a brown version of this one! Oooh!!

OR, *SQUEAAL* LIKE THIS:

Before I start uploading all my jumpsuit stalking results, I'll move on to sharing my new toy, a spankin' new (actually I got it off Craigslist) sewing machine!!! Notice the circular gleam of light coming from the window? That's God's approval right thur!!

As you can see, I also equipped myself with all the starter tools for my new project, so Mama's ready to sew! When will I find time, some may wonder? Dunno, just know what I want, the details (like when and exactly how) are none of my business. I will be making jumpsuits, so please don't act all surprised and judgmental when you see me with a strapless jumpsuit in the dead of winter because that's when my first one might be finished! Just smile, compliment me, and celebrate my accomplishment...at least until I leave the room.

Oh, and I'm graciously accepting tips and advice from those of you who already know a thing or two about sewing. In the meantime, I'll be trolling Youtube for how-to videos...

How would they imitate you?

See how innocent (and fiesty) they look? Yeah, don't get sucked in, they team up to drive me maaaad...LOL!

Yesterday, I heard Marley (5) and Sage (3) playing in the sunroom. Not uncommon, as they've long ignored my repeated requests to play in the PLAYROOM, and not use the sunroom as storage for their books and few toys. They were running around and chatting away together, also not uncommon. As I smiled at the sounds of their voices and movements tickling my ears (clearly, I was in a good mood, because sometimes their voices are the exact opposite of "tickly") I tuned in to hear the actual conversation they were having, especially when I heard my name.

"Yes, this is Akilah calling about the property management territory"...LOL! Marley was on her pretend phone imitating me on my real estate related calls. Sage responded to the "call" with: "Yes, we want to offer 100 pennies for the property," and Marley responds with, "I'll talk to my clients and we'll come in to your office, that sounds great." Ha! If only it were that easy!

The girls continued to play mommy in everything from my real estate career to my writing ventures to my speeches about being messy people and all the ills that come with that choice. It was hilarious! I have to admit though, I was a bit nervous about what they would say when imitating my less-than-best moments. For example, getting them upstairs to prepare for bed is always akin to herding super-stubborn cattle (but cuter!), and I don't always successfully channel my most patience self. But, they spared me, because their rendition of my get-out-of-the-tub-and-into-the-room pleas were um, let's say "lovingly adamant"...yeah, let's roll with that. And their renditions of the 3 decibels above normal tone that I take on my 4th assertion for them to clean up one area before moving on to another, were actually pretty sweet! Apparently, my wild woman rantings are mostly internal, and save for the occasional your mama is crazy outbursts, I manage to put their emotional health before my frustration with their perfectly normal little girl DoWhatIWanna mentality.
******Hi-five for Crazy Inside/Perfectly Normal Outside moms everywhere! Whap!*****

So here's the question: How would your little blessings imitate you? Would they yell and rant? Whine and complain about things that a child has no business hearing? Curse? Slap their doll? Re-enact time outs? All of the above? Hey, I'm not Dr. Phil, so I'm not even trying to offer any solutions. And I'm FAR from perfect or even pretending to be, so I'm not here to judge anymommy anywhere, but I do want you to ask you to consider my question 5 minutes from now when Bria throws a fit or you trip over Michael's fire truck for the umpteenth time. Remind yourself (as I do, quite often!) that one statement in your moment of anger could affect them for the rest of their lives, True Story!

Execumama's Essence

I am giddy right now -- nothing shy of ecstatic, to be specific. The Execumama clan (Kris, the girls, and moi) has been featured in the most recent Essence Magazine! YES! The May issue! The very same one that has Our First Lady and her wonderful mother on the cover, has my family plastered all over page 152...surreal! I'm trying to write this post while struggling not to float around my house on this Cloud 9 that I've been given today, but I had to share my joy with you! SCORE!

The issue is on stands today, so grab a copy...Michelle Obama and her mom are the cover story, so it's a no-brainer! Check it out, along with my spankin' new Web site (courtesy of my talented and incredibly patient designer and husband, Kris of Voz Visual Designs), and celebrate the Execumamas in your life!
www.execumama.com

My Mirror: Archenemy or Blunt Ally?

GOTTA LOVE INDIA!

I am an India.Arie fan, and subsequently, so are my daughters. They pop her old CD into the radio in their room at least twice a day, and hold hearty jam sessions while parading around our upstairs hallways with pretend microphones and of course, mommy's shoes.

Probably not unlike most of her fans, India's "Video" song lyrics really touch me and is definitely on my life soundtrack as a daily mantra of mine. My daughters can recite the song lyrics word for word, and in this day of slim pickin's when it comes to songs our children can actually take in, Video is welcome in our house. If you've never really done so, Google the lyrics and join my smile-athon.

Nowadays, I hear the song so much (thanks, Marley & Sage!) that I think I desensitized myself to the greater meaning. Thankfully our God-given built-in checks and balances systems, readily accessible via prayer and meditation, has allowed me to re-focus my efforts on my SELF.

For the past four months, I've been working on my body more than I've ever done in my entire life. Since hubby and I agreed that the baby-makin' stage is over (Hallelujah!), I'm stomping around my house demanding my body back, and I know that comes with proper diet, exercise, healthy habits, blah blah, snore... I get it. But I'm impatient, dammit, and I want a body that's a cross between Venus and Serena Williams, albeit unlikely due to the slight difference in their exercise routines versus mine. But, Alas! There is hope, and it comes in the form of two precious concepts: Potential and Persistence. I have a theory I'm working with right now, and I'm glad you stopped by today, because I want to bounce it off of you. What's that? You wouldn't mind one bit? You are such a dear!

Okay, so you know how we keep hearing that you shouldn't fall in love with someone for their potential, but instead for who they are at that particular stage in their lives? I totally get that! It's a slippery slope to maneuver if you fall for a guy based on what you think he could BECOME as opposed to who dude really IS! HOWEVER, what if, instead of throwing that "potential" philosophy out the window, we use it to fall in love with, drumrollll.....our very own bodies?!

The idea is to look at yourself in the mirror - naked (this, by the way, is even more effective when you're sober), view your body's entire topography, see which areas in particular can use an upgrade, then allow yourself to mentally embrace ALL of it.

--Yes, even the part that looks as though fierce tigers once competed there, and left their claw marks as evidence of their epic battles!
--Yes, even the part that looks as though a highly trained BB gun marksman used it for target practice!
-Yes, even the part that induces your sea-sick reflexes when you move even just a little!
-And, yes, even the part that reminds you why lattes and desserts, despite their cunning and deceptive ways of making you fall in love with them, are not actually your friends!

Got it? Good. This is not the time to lament over what you don't like about what you see, but to fall in love with the fact that this body of yours, regardless of its imperfections, houses a perfectly healthy working heart, and a warrior spirit that keeps you bouncing back and fixated on your journey, even when life bellows: "stay down!".

Toward the end of 2008, my BFF and I decided that we were going to stop envying the people who worked out regularly and had the bodies to show it, but instead BE on that list by working consistently to not only get, but KEEP ourselves in motion. I'm happy to report that four months in, we are both in much better shape, and the idea of working out at least 5 days a week is no longer a frightening concept, but a matter of absolute necessity, much like teeth brushing and shoe shopping. As we all know, it's no easy task, but it's oh so doable when you fall in love with your potential. I've never been one for deprivation, and have no intention of denying myself the hard-earned brownie breaks and Jamaican rum cake binge sessions in which I partake from time to time to time to time to... . What I have been willing to do though, has been tremendously effective, so I'm sharing with you, my bloggy homies, so you can embrace, utilize and share your fullest selves with those who are fortunate enough to matter to you.

From one Execumama to another, here are 5 Wonderful Ways to rekindle (or birth) a healthy relationship with our mirrors!

-Water works! Its not that I was a heavy juice drinker, I just didn't really consider it one way or the other. No more nonchalance where this is concerned. I replace juice with water 80% of the time, and relegate my juice indulgences to mini-cups that hold no more than 4-5 gulps of juice. The rest of the time I drink water, and after about a month, it was really a non-issue.

-Weights. I bought a pair of 5lb weights from a garage sale for $2 and I have gotten my money's worth and then some. I use exercise TV and my memory (significantly less reliable than exercise TV) to do 5 or 6 sets of something-or-other at home every single day. Additionally, I take classes that utilize free weights that range from 3 to 10lbs. I have never had arms with definition, and this year, that has changed. The most awesome part of visible muscles is that they provide easy-access motivation to get the rest of me all gussied up like they are.

-Walk hard! I'm not a jogger/runner type of person. Seriously! Just the thought of running or jogging, and my knees hurt, my throat starts to feel like there's a plastic bag filled with air in it, and I start to think of perfectly logical reasons why I just can't do it. But, I can and do walk. I walk at the park, I walk on the elliptical machine thingie, and I park far away and walk when I go to the grocery store or wherever. It's a simple thing to do, and IT WORKS! I've toned up significantly in a pretty short period of time, and you can't tell me I'm not F-L-Y!

-Whining is allowed! There are definitely mornings when I don't want to Align or Define anything, and I sincerely dislike my fitness instructor. However, what I found out is that I can still whine like my 3 year old, while I get dressed, get in my truck, drive, then park said truck, and walk into the cardio room to keep my commitment to my body and my overall self. My whiny feeling has never (not once) lasted past the warm-up, and I always feel so great after working out. Whining is often a spinoff from fear, and much like fear, it can be acknowledged without being embraced and taken in as a roommate.

-What a healthy habit! Regular exercise and a well-balanced diet is, for me, a matter of creating a habit. Since January, I've successfully integrated working out and water guzzling as a part of my daily routine. Now, when something happens and I can't make it to my workout class or the walking trail, it literally feels like I'm not fully engaged in my day, and I LOVE THAT! It's proof for me that exercise is now something I do, as opposed to something I need to get done. I hope that makes sense, because it's a really important element in the process of actually living (not periodically visiting) a healthy lifestyle.

I know that for many of us, our mirrors have become more foe than friend, and though we laugh it off as a part of getting older, it does NOT have to be the norm. Join me, if you haven't already done so, in wearing that Beautiful Flower status that you earned simply by being born. Love yourself as you would want your daughters and sons to love themselves. Embrace not only who you are and how you look and feel today, but the very real idea that you can reshape your body and retrain yourself to live a life of healthy habits and Hottie status tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after, and the....

Have a FABULOUS weekend!