April 29, 2012
4G in Cameroon
What kind of backwards progress am I making? My brothers and Sisters in Cameroon already have 4G and am still here wrestling with my 3G android phone. In my life, I have suffered*
Hair Envy
I looooooove her hair! Mine seems to be heading in the same direction and if this is how it may end up looking in the near future...cool!
She's a Cameroonian too :)
Check out her blog at http://www.addicted2etsy.com/
Women In Leadership Development and Empowerment LLC
WILDE is an Atlanta based unique network of professional women who aim at enhancing
women’s skills and involvement at all levels of society while creating better communities.
Women In Leadership Development and Empowerment LLC
THE OFFICIAL LAUNCHING
Join us for a glamorous evening of entertainment and fine dining as
we present to you WILDE LLC.
When: Friday June 22, 2012
Where: The Spring Hall
7130 Buford HWY
Atlanta, Ga. 30340
Attire: Black Tie
We will also issue Leadership and Service Awards to proven
individuals who continue to make a positive impact in the
communities.
Are your making a difference in the community; do you know
someone who is making a difference in the community?
Email your nominations today to info@wildellc.com with brief
literature on why your nominee deserves to be honored with
the WILDE Leadership and Service Awards
Event will also go to benefit local non-profit organizations
For Volunteer, Partnership, Media and Sponsorship
Event will also go to benefit local non-profit organizations
For Volunteer, Partnership, Media and Sponsorship
opportunities please email info@wildellc.com
GET YOU TICKETS TODAY TO RECEIVE AN EARLY BIRD
GET YOU TICKETS TODAY TO RECEIVE AN EARLY BIRD
Atlanta Week-end Deuxieme parti
of fairness decided to set back the balance of good and evil and compensate me with extra happiness for all the largely untold drama that had taken place the previous weekend.
A crazy flight with stoppage to fuel up had me getting to Atlanta later than anticipated. As if I wasn’t tired enough, the rental car company I had booked spent almost an hour debating the legitimacy of the one alphabet difference in the name on my driver’s license versus the one on my debit card. At which point the superior manager was called to settle the debate and upon pulling my record, found out that I had rented from the same company for a span of 3 years on my yearly summer trips to LA. ….see? it pays to travel!
Suffice to say, Friday was a no show. I was dead tired and went straight to bed.
They say you’re day is a reflection of how you wake up. I was about to find this statement to be true. Saturday morning, my host and great friend wakes me up to a session of Insanity Fitness. I swear I thought I was dreaming. So I agreed thinking….it’s a dream. Next thing I know, am sweating profusely,using muscles I haven't engaged in years and surprisingly hanging in throughout the 45 mins session. It turned out to be a better morning perk up remedy than my usual coffee + espresso shots
.
Yes mes amis…Exercise Is Medicine. You gotta act?do? what you preach right?
After some refueling (shoveling food to make up for the calories I just burned), I headed out to the Sweet Water Festival with some friends close to Little 5 Points. It is afternoons like this…girls day outs on a nice sunny day…that makes me miss atlanta soooooo much. After a 10 + years affair one cannot expect me to just move on. Don’t get me wrong, Boston is a great lover ^_^….but lacks that southern hospitality and charm that serenades a girl.
(the yellow sign reads: Unattended children will be sold as slaves.....hilarious)
Every summer I attend festivals and particularly sweet water festivals…HOWEVER, I DO NOT DRINK BEER….and its not from a lack of trying…I have tried...on several occasion and my palate just does not agree with that awful taste.
On the other hand, am not a sandwich (hot or cold) fan BUT for some reasons I love eating all the greasy festival foods. Sandwiches and hot dogs. Something about the ambiance of a festival makes them taste better to me.
After my friends had all gotten their beers, we went hunting for mixed drinks for me and luckily found one.
$6.00 margaritas.
At first I was worried it will be watered down but was pleasantly shocked at how STRONG the drink was..I only had one cup the entire time I was there 
They also had shots which the old college soccer playing wild child would have gladly indulged in but I EXERCISED restrain and only ordered my margaritas.
Somewhere between the festival and what not, I ended up at a bbq party in Marietta (about 30 mins drive from Little 5 points) and had some nice delicious food with Caribbean themed rum mixed drinks. Next thing I know..my friends and I are dressing up to attend a surprise birthday party at Two Urban Licks. Luckily for me, my years of traveling has taught me to drive with all my crap in my rental car trunk because I never know what the day will have in store for me You can still identify the festival band on my arm
We arrive the birthday dinner almost 2 hrs late thinking we missed the whole surprise fireworks but Helas…we are dealing with Africans here…1 HR to midnight and the guest of honor is no where to be found. On the other hand, I had the pleasure of running into 2 of my boarding school mates…who where also there for the dinner…small world*
The lovely bride and groom (pictured on the left) would surely murder me for being in Atlanta but not making it to the wedding because I “overslept”. Sadly for me the decision to sleep or not was taken out of my hands as I was staying with 2 grooms men who had to be up and ready pretty early. So I stayed up with them and slowly started the process of making my sleep deprived self look presentable for the wedding.
A burned ballroom dress from an extremely hot iron, a limo breakdown and missing shoes disasters later, VOILA!
At the Four Seasons in Atlanta, Ga
The wedding was Beautiful. Small, and an Intimate Affair. I now want the bride to be my future wedding planner. I hope she reads this ^_^
Groomsmen
LES AMOUREUX
The rest of my Sunday after the reception was spent napping,having 1-1 tete a tete convos with my close friends just to catch up with theirs and my life. I came back to Boston with my cup over flowing with love, peace and happiness. Family indeed does not stop with those you share a DNA. So choose wisely mes amis
April 28, 2012
Continuing Education Credits
I got this in the mail today
This is for New England [Portland, Manchester, Boston, Providence, Hartford]- Certified Personal Trainers
- Athletic Trainers
- Exercise Physiologists
- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
Accountability
This weekend I participated in a conversation about social injustices in the black american community especially police racial profiling. This conversation spilled into Monday and now i feel the need to blog about my general opinion.
Before I continue, I will like to make a disclaimer that Yes, there are minorities in colleges and in the work force. Yes, not all minorities are from the ghetto and many other things that one now has to do a disclaimer on because people are too stupid and will want to use you're generalization as a crotch instead of actually focusing on the argument at hand.
Now, back to the topic at hand.
I am very certain that I have blogged about this before because this is a topic that I feel very strongly about.
As a first generation immigrant, living in america the first couple of years was HELL. As a family we suffered and struggled financially, emotionally, socially,...EVERYTHING-LY more than we had ever suffered in Africa. It was a reality SHOCK. We came into this country with nothing but the clothes on our backs and a couple of family souvenirs items like pictures and etc. Fast forward ten years later, my brothers and I have all graduated from colleges/graduate programs and are now finding our way in the professional world.
This story is not strange and quiet similar to the experiences of many other African immigrants ..am sure its the same of people of other continents like Asia, South America and Europe but I can only speak of what i know/have experienced.
Minority population of many colleges now a days is represented by minority foreigners or 1st/2nd generation immigrants and not so much by the minorities of america. Why is that?
Why are so many immigrants who came to america in worst conditions than the black america communities here, rising out of their hardship into becoming middle class families while the black communities seem to say the same?
I'm tired of the racism excuses. It's time the black american community, head of households, community leaders, organisations, role models, activists and mentors start holding themselves accountable for the drop in the number of kids who make it through high school and on to colleges. For the lack of diversity in the professional arena.
Wake up! and stop playing the victim.
In this 21st century america, You have no clue what it means to be oppressed. Perhaps as I've said before, its time for a reality show in which some of these kids are shipped to third world countries to experience EXACTLY what it means to be POOR and OPPRESSED.
To have talents & gifts & passiong but no opportunity.
To have passion but no platform to be heard.
To have your human and civil rights violated without cause.
To go days without food, never knowing when your next meal will come.
To have NO government programs to help you out.
To have your government, made up of your fellow country men, willing to kill anyone to maintain their greedy lifestyles at your expense
To have a president who can just change the NATIONAL CONSTITUTION at will, so he can run for office AGAIN even though he's been president for over 20+ years
You're going to have to come up with a better excuse than racism.
How can a child born today, attribute all of their life failures to racism especially when studies continue to show that there is a lack of discipline or drive to put in the hard work required to succeed?
How do you justify the success of immigrant who come here with less rights and minimal opportunities?
Tipping the Balance of Accomodation
I don't remember the exact news media but i recently saw an article that named Beyonce Knowles as the most beautiful woman....i guess in the world? I'm not sure. I don't know if these awards or recognition typically pertain to a particular continent, country or the whole wide world. If the last option is true..well that's just plain ridiculous.
I love that the fashion industry is trying to change its weight perceptions. I am all for accommodating the over weight and obese.I'm not sure where I stand as far as making them pay extra for services such us taking two seats instead one on a public transportation. For now I lean towards not making them pay extra unless the business can prove that it takes an extra amount of manpower , more time or more products to give them the same quality services others receive.
When do we put a CAP on it? Where do we draw the line? How do we make people understand that promoting a healthy "curvy" physique is not an endorsement for obesity?
Yes, be big and proud but don't get it twisted. Make sure its a healthy big.
I ask this because last year or so popular Singer Adele who is over weight, talked about how she is happy* with her weight and will not change it to fit the norm of the entertainment industry. The problem with such statements is that, she did not address the health implications of being overweight and a lot of her followers supported her decision. Ironically, today Adele is now working to lose the weight. Nobody is saying she needs to be a size 0-2. What we in the health care community are saying is, for a 27yrs old female, she is carrying an unhealthy amount of weight.
Denmark tried to answer this question by implementing a FAT TAX on products that contain a high percentage of saturate fats such as pizza, butter, oil, cheese and etc.
How do we use this same logic to implement something...a regulation of sort that holds THE INDIVIDUAL accountable? instead of the grocery store.....I don't think its fair to make everyone pay this fat tax in Denmark because not everyone is abusing or eating the products in excess. The only other option I can think of right now is the one I already disapproved above...making the client pay Extra.
Now back to the desirable FIGURE 8 business. Since this is also somewhat of an exercise blog, am going to list strength training exercise routines that will help tone your abs and trim your waist. They should be performed at least 3x a week and MUST be accompanied with an aerobic workout to see results.
Exercise Is Medicine Tip of the day: The American College of Sports Medicine risk stratification guidelines considers a waist girth of more than 102cm (40 inches) for men and 88cm (35 inches) for women as a mark of obesity
Once again I must mention the role of genetics in all of this.Exercise will work with what mother nature gave you so do not expect to have the same EXACT physique as your celebrity crush. And also remember you CANNOT spot reduce FAT but you can do exercises that target specific MUSCLE groups. Doing any sort of cardio exercise will burn fat and in this case help expose the muscles laying under it.
1. Bicycle Kicks
2. Planks, any variation will do
3. Broomstick Twist
4. Twisting Sit-Up
Bonne Chance mes amis!
April 26, 2012
Water Exercises
Its spring time! and with this warm weather, the pools are gearing up for business. If like me, you are constantly looking for ways to spice up your work out routines, the pool is a great place to exercise and cool off simultaneously.
Water exercises have been proven to be beneficial for rehabilitation, pregnant women, arthritis & fibromyalgia patients and those with certain orthopedic non-weight bearing injuries . Also, it is sometimes a better cardio option to running for overweight individuals because the repeated pounding from running can greatly affect bones and joints such as the ankle,knees and etc
My swimming skills are pretty average. I'll recommend non-swimmers to make sure there's a lifeguard around or have a partner who is an EXCELLENT swimmer even though some of the exercise routines can be performed in shallow water or by standing at a waist-deep level. Also for my competitive athletes,wearing webbed gloves or using foam barbells(water weights) increases the resistance/intensity of your work out.There are many exercises and routines that can be performed in a pool. I'm only listing the ones I have performed. The number of sets and repetitions will vary on individual fitness level and goals
1. Swimming lapses across the pool's length is a great cardio workout by itself. Aim for a minimum of 10 lapses to get a good workout
2.Water jogging. It's a great workout but don't expect to be able to jog for a long time the same way you jog on land. Water is a tough resistance element. Challenge yourself by adding water ankle weights to your legs
3. Water Spider man. Try to mimic the way spider man climbs building by climbing the walls of the pool. This exercise will engage your back and core muscles.
4. With your back leaning on the pool wall, perform Leg Extensions with water weights wrapped around your ankles. If that isnt challenging enough, loose the back support and repeat the same movements.
5. The Burdenko Method to improve Balance and Flexibility while strengthening the Core. Its a combination of many exercises which can be better explained by watch this video
6. Crane to workout your abs, "thunder" thighs and butt. Stand on one leg and lift the other backwards till your torso in in a horizontal position
For my gadget fanatics
Aquatic fitness gloves
aqua joggers
Aqua belt is a floating device that allows you more freedom of movement while you stay buoyant in water
And when all fails or you're just too tired and want to do something low key, FLOAT :)
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