The Help: And the two old white guys

These are just some of my thoughts from the movie NOT a review..

So the movie was.....okay I guess. Nothing inspirational, and surely not as comical as I thought it was going to be. However there were some funny tid bits here and there, and mind you I am a pretty light hearted person that finds humor in everything, but some things are simply not funny. I honestly didn't know how popular this book was among that the middle age white female community, but after I saw the film I see why.....The film is like a Tyler Perry film, but reversed. I am not speaking of the plot or story line, but the character depiction. The way Tyler Perry brings to light the ills of the black community is kind of what this film did for the white community. The film discussed some pretty serious issues while keeping it light and funny (to some), hell they even had a Madea character in there! So, in all fairness, I understand why this is a "must see" for some women, especially white women. However as a woman of color, no as an educated woman of color, naw scratch that, as an educated, dark skin woman of color with curves, I found this movie to be a bit oppressive. Similar to what some may feel about some of Tyler Perry's films. The character that was meant for me to relate to was the maid by the name of Mannie. Mannie's character was sassy, quick tempered, hungry and weak. Oh, and she was always talking about some chicken, fried of course. The one thing I did take from the movie was the pride and dedication these black women had for their jobs as maids. That is about it......I did not appreciate how the black characters were made to be one-dimensional while their white bosses had a more clear back story. The black women had no love interest other than their love for Christ, which is good, but I am sure their life didn't revolve around solely cleaning up behind white folks. Also, the diction that was used seemed appropriate, but kind of eerie for me since I was sitting between two older white men and MAJOR side eye to the one on my left who got a hearty laugh out the being black and coffee joke 0_o Oh you should have saw their face when I finally laughed out loud, because for the most part I was playing the role in my seat as the anger fat black woman who couldn't take a joke. Well, to you two kind sirs, I apologize that I did not find humor in most of the movie, except for the chocolate pie, now that was if funny! Anyway, if you are looking for a movie of inspiration this is NOT it. Oh and my final grievance, I don't appreciate the way the whole theatre laughed out loud when they showed the Skeeter's nanny/ family maid for the first time. I don't think her appearance was meant to be comical but apparently my fellow movie goers did, especially the two jokesters on either side of me. "Tell me how you REALLY feel"......

I think I should have saw the ape movie.................

Starving Children in Africa: Raw & UnCut

So while eating a plate of homemade marinara sauce & three cheese raviolis this weekend, I found myself faced with a dilema: I had four cheese raviolis left that looked kinda like this

Yummy! Anyway, it was a cheat meal for the day, groceries were low and I was not going to store so I had to cook what I had! *My excuse and I am sticking with it!*

Anywho the serving size was like 8 ravioli's so of course I got my fair share, nothing more and definitely not anything less 8 is what I got, and I made dog-gone sure they were all whole, not broken, etc...true fat kid in me! So when I got down to the final 4 raviolis I noticed that I was stuffed, like really full.

But in the back of my head I heard both of my grandmother's voices "Guhl, you bet not waste that food, do you know there are starving children in Africa who could eat that!" And pending on which grandmother's house I was at as a child that statement could have been followed by "...And don't carry your tail in here askin' for NARE-NUTTHA piece of nothing!" and in a slight mumble you could hear granny say "...waisting my $%^&* food, you can waste your momma food, but not my food over here, not today you won't!" LOL Lord have mercy! I love both of my grandmothers!

But listen y'all, alot of parent's have this same rule of FINISH YOUR PLATE and DON'T WASTE FOOD.

Now I understand my grandparents grew up in a time where refrigerators were a luxury and the microwave was unheard of, so I can kind of see why they insisted in eating ALLL of the food given to you. And especially since having a plate of food was/is a true blessing, I understand you didn't want to waste it.

However, in today's times we have sufficient refrigeration and microwaves, so why do we still insist on stuffing ourselves in the name of these starving kids in Africa ( *DISCLAIMER: I do take World Hunger seriously, in fact I do my part by donating to various orgs for that cause. ) I don't want any hate messages talkin' about I'm being insensitive etc. etc.

Now, back to these starving kids that my grandmother's advocated for all of the time. I have found myself playing a mind game when it some to some foods. If it's a food I really like and I have had enough, but my plate was not completely eaten I would stuff myself and then have the nerve to feel a since of pride as if I did my part for hungry kids in Africa!

Yeah, that's sad, I know but I am learning that in this journey alot of my eating habits are out of just that HABITS, and bad ones at that.

Out of habit I cleaned my plate, out of habit I used to stuff myself, and out of habit I became FAT!

So I think I have come to grips with this one, and I heard a new mantra that I tell myself when I see I have food left, and y'all can use this too....this one is free lol " WASTED food is better than WAISTED food" Simply saying, I'd rather waste some food than to have it added to my waistline (which is still shrinking by the way!)

Again, let me give a disclaimer, I am not saying make a big ole plate and eat 1/2 of it and throw the other half away and think you are doing something.

I am saying if you use proper portion control you won't have that much wasted, and if you do, REFRIGERATE IT and EAT IT LATER! It will speed up your metabolism and shrink your stomach volume naturally. The key is listen to your BODY and not the VOICES, in my case not the voice of my grandmothers LOL

"Eating to LIVE and not the other way around"

Are you Pretty enough?



Yeah so this post is not a self empowerment one, although I need to write more of those, however Are you Pretty enough is in reference to your food presentation. Throughout this journey I have learned to sike myself out about alot of things. More specifically the way I present my food to myself. Believe it or not, we spend so much time in restaurants simply because our EYES like what we see. Seriously, think about it, we eat with our EYES. They are the first to say whether or not we are interested in what is on our plate. I know I am not the only one that has changed their entree at the last minute after seeing a waiter walk by with a plate that looked soo good to my EYES. So with that said, let me tell you about my trick in eating more fruits and veggies.

You know how when you are at a function with food you find yourself eating the carrots or broccoli <knowing good and well you don't eat like that on a regular basis> from the pretty veggie tray that might look something like this:

Well I make my veggies at home look similar to this. That's right, I make my own veggie and fruit trays, WHY? Because I know I am a visual eater, and apparently my daughter is too because she is tearing up those carrots! Seriously, I buy some veggies from the produce section, PLEASE DON'T GO BUY PREMADE VEGGIE TRAYS, MAKE YOUR OWN! It will save you money as well as ensure that your produce is cleaned properly. Also an AWESOME find while at my local 99 cent only store was that they sell SUPER cheap veggies and fruit for ONE DOLLAR, and it's a bag full too! Eating healthy does NOT, I repeat does NOT have to break your pockets! Actually your grocery bill should go down. I'll do a post on that later, as requested. Anywho start feeding your eyes! Make your food pretty enough, especially those fruits and veggies. I even plan to make mini fruit and veggie platters to keep in the fridge this semester to snack on during my office hours. I will prepare them on a Styrofoam saucer plate and mix it up, spice it up, sauce it up <not too much> what ever I have to do to keep eating clean while on the go! I will make 5 mini platters at a time so that I can grab them and go because Lord knows I am always running late!

So try it! So what if folks give you the side eye for having veggie trays in your fridge, Forget them! We are trying to get our bodies right, and doing so may cause some stares SO WHAT! Stare at them while they are gulping down the High Fructose Corn Syrup and other fake boxed foods! Ok, I'm done. But seriously bring those fruits and veggies out of the bottom drawer in your fridge and put them on the TOP SHELF, you deserve it!

Eating to LIVE and not the other way around.

Instant Lipo: It has come down to this..

Exhibit A

*For the record, this is not my actual back, but I would be dishonest if I didn't admit that it could be a close replica:) LOL

Anyway, through this journey to a healthier me I have seen some changes. Some good, like the slight breeze between my thighs these days <It caught me off guard, I was SOO not used to that!>  and the bad, like the roundness of my tush #teamMs.NewFitBooty, and then the UGLY --this dreadful sagging back fat! UUGGGGHHH the frustration is on level 10,000! It throws off my whole outfit. I am proud to say that I am the big girl with a cute tummy and not a big ole belly :) Hey I can brag a little, I have turned down too many soda pops and other sugary things not too. However, since I am still loosing weight and inches my back rolls are deflating #WINNING but they are sagging #FAIL! I know it probably sounds worse than what it really is, but I can not stand it! So I have signed up for the instant Lipo, NOOOO I AM NOT GOING UNDER THE KNIFE but I have invested ONCE AGAIN in a nice snug girdle.

Speaking of girdles, I have a grievance, soo while at a function a few weeks ago I noticed soo many women who had on skin tight tops, but NO shape wear. I mean, I know how it is, you look in the mirror holding your stomach in with that Hand over your belly like that is suppose to be the magic touch to hold it in all day LOL Yeah I used to fall for that trick, but uuummmm yeah, a girdle is a MUST have. Honestly, I thought that since I was loosing weight I could ditch those dang girdles, but I was sadly mistaken.....my rolls need support yall! Mainly the rolls in back <rolls eyes> But I must say that I am pleased with my choice to use shapewear for that issue. It has a smoother look and allows my hidden hour glass figure to peek its little head though, just a lil bit! Mind you, I am HOT as you know what, but hey no pain no gain. Oh and supposedly it will help to shape my body permanently.

Cheers to girdles all around the world!

Eating to LIVE and no the other way around.