Becoming Storm (part 1)

   In an earlier post I told you about my love of making costumes. Well Halloween is right around the corner and I am in go mode. Like I said before, what I like about making costumes is being able to make them for as little cost as possible (ideally under $20) and using my ingenuity to make the costume as close to the original but as flattering as possible. This year's costume is a super sexy version of Storm. This right here:

It took me a while to find the pieces that I needed but I found the perfect ones this Saturday. I got these shaper briefs for $7 at Marshalls.

 I'm going to wear both because the white one is a little sheer. I also got the top at Marshalls also for $5. I'm working on it right now so it looks a little funky but wait until you see the final product.

I used spray paint to color the top and was able to get the shape I needed by using a piece that I had in my bag o' costumery. FYI, the spray paint was from some that I already had lying around plus some that I picked up on freecycle.

This is why I don't like to throw things out; you never know when something will come in handy. For the off the shoulder straps I cut some strips out of an old pillowcase, sewed them up and spray painted them.

The costume calls for white boots and I don't feel like going out to buy any. Luckily I had an old pair of boots in the trunk of my car and plenty of white spray paint.

 

 All of this was accomplished between late Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Since summer decided that she's just gonna up and leave I'm more inclined to stay in the house so there will be ample time to get everything ready in time for Halloween. It looks rough now but I'm really excited to see what it looks like in the end. I'll keep you posted. 

What I learned on my sugar detox

  I know I've been away for a while but...life. So I did a 21 day sugar cleanse. The idea of the cleanse is that there is an overabundance of the naturally occurring yeast in your gut. By cutting out sugar for 21 days, you stop feeding the yeast and bring it down to normal levels. My friend told me about this cleanse a couple of years ago (she had gotten it from her primary care physician) but I was not in a mental space to do it. She is super fit and her dietary willpower is just... Anyway, I saw her mom a few weeks ago and she had lost a dramatic amount of weight and she said that it was from the cleanse so my vanity motivated me to try it :-). It was an interesting 3 weeks and I would just like to say: sugar is a hating ass bitch. Here are some of the things I learned on this cleanse:


1. Nutrition really is the most important part of fitness.
    We keep hearing it's 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. IT IS TRUE and I want to yell it from the mountain top. I've been working out on and off since college and been doing so consistently for the last 2+ years. While I feel better and more in shape than when I don't work out, I always find that I hit a plateau in terms of my weight loss that I thought was going to be impossible to overcome. At the end of this cleanse, I lost a total of 9 pounds, 1.5 inches off of my waist, and went down a dress size in 3 weeks. I didn't increase exercise (I exercise 4-5 days a week). I was never hungry. I just had to be smart about what I chose both in content and portion size. Which brings me to #2.

2. Sugar is in EVERYTHING.
    I basically had to give up any alcoholic beverages in the last 3 weeks because they are loaded with sugar; that wasn't a big deal. What was challenging was giving up my oatmeal breakfast and 2 pieces of fruit daily. Not to mention my treat meals and the random goodies at work I tend to find in my vicinity and eat without thinking. This cleanse really forced me to sit down and read/research/think about what I am putting into my body and I realized what a big part of the general diet sugar is.

3. I'M an all or nothing person.
    Although in general I eat pretty well, I let my cheat meals get out of hand sometimes. A cheat meal becomes a cheat day becomes a cheat week and on and on (i.e., my birthday month binge). I always felt like there were some foods that I would just NEVER be able to totally cut out. This cleanse made me realize that if I'm committing to a healthier lifestyle I have to REALLY committ. This may not be true for everyone, I'm just speaking for myself because a) I gain weight really easily and 2) I've got willpower issues. I don't buy large containers of cashews because they are my favorite and I'll inhale it all in 1-2 days. I don't keep cheese in the house very much because I will put it on everything. I don't make my comfort foods in large batches because my portion control goes out the door. When it comes to sugar, I'm going to have to be creative in how I satisfy my craving for it and that brings me to #4.

4. There are lots of healthy alternatives to the foods I love.
    Sometimes I want a sandwich. Hello coconut flour! I learned to make bread using coconut flour and it pretty much changed the bread game for me. I'm going to be doing a lot of experimenting with it in my future. I love cheese. See #5. I also love fruit. See #7. The crux of what I'm trying to say is that there is always a better version of that favorite food of yours. You just have to look for it. (sidebar: found a delicious recipe for an almost sugar free alcoholic beverage and I'm working on paleo mac and cheese.)

5. Avocados FTW!
   I love cheese. No, I LOVE cheese. Specifically cheddar and bleu cheese. Unfortunately these were off the menu for the cleanse. Too much saturated fat. Then in walks avocado. I've always loved avocado but it is a really great way to substitute for cheese. It's creamy and has lots of healthy fats and is just all around delicious. But I'm not a fan of slimcados. They may be bigger but not as delicious as regular avocados.

6. Fat isn't bad for you!
   I keep track of most of my food intake on My Fitness Pal. I usually try to keep my fat intake to a minimum and consider it a victory if I'm a couple of grams under my daily sugar intake. During this 3 week cleanse, my fat intake was over what the program said I should be taking in while cutting out most* of the sugar and I lost a significant amount of weight in a pretty short amount of time. The key is to take in good fats from things like avocados and nuts and limiting your intake of saturated fats (i.e., take the skin off your chicken and go light on the bacon)

7. Fruit extracts: get into them
   I love citrus fruits. This cleanse cut out any fruit intake for 21 days. I learned to satisfy my desire for tasty tasty fruit by flavoring cottage cheese with orange and lemon extracts and a non-sugar sweetener. Delicious. I'll be looking more to berries for my fruit intake in the future. Citrus fruits will have to be a sometimes treat.

8. Stevia is gross.
   I don't know what that nasty aftertaste is but keep it away from me. I finished out my stevia stash and started using Splenda even though that isn't too great for you either. I'm going to be switching over to Xylitol and hopefully I have better luck with it. BTW if anyone wants a bag of Coconut Palm Sugar and one of brown sugar, they're yours.

9. Preparation is key.
    This goes for the mental as well as the physical. During this cleanse I attended the wedding of two of my dearest friends. The reception was OPEN BAR with a NIGERIAN/SOUTHERN FOOD BUFFET. Satan get thee behind me! Perfect opportunity for me to slip up. But I was committed to seeing this cleanse out and I just had some chicken (I took the skin off) and collards. Plus I had my own stash of food in the car. Last weekend I went on a beach trip with my running group and there were boardwalk fries, ice cream, and funnel cakes oh my! But I had my trusty bag full of burger patties, avocado, and spinach, plus some no sugar treats and I stuck to it. You have to be willing to put in some prep work if you're going to stick to an eating plan. You don't know what people are putting in your food (I worked in a restaurant where they put sugar in the corn). Also you need something to lean on when you are tempted. I might look a little odd when I pull out my prepped food, but I've got goals to attain.

10. Eating clean isn't as hard as some people make it out to be.
    Halfway through the cleanse I got really lazy with cooking. So I went to the grocery store and I bought rotisserie chickens and veggies that required minimal prep. The hardest part was dividing the meat into appropriate portions (invest in a food scale; it is WORTH IT). While I do plan on trying out some fancier recipes, it's comforting to know that sticking to this style of eating isn't something that is going to have me constantly slaving in the kitchen.

   To sum it up, the cleanse wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and I am more than pleased with the results. I think I might keep it going a little longer. I'm definitely more aware of what kind of food I put in my body and how sugar affects me. I know that because of the way MY body works, I have to pay special attention to my sugar intake. If you want the meal sheet, send me your email and I'll be happy to share it. Let me know your experience!

*I had negligible sugar intake from some veggies and avocado.

Free Fitness Friday: App based challenges

    Accountability can be a real motivating factor in maintaining a fitness schedule. I meet up with groups and friends several times a week for different types of exercise and the fact that I have an appointment (even if it's only in my head) makes me schedule my workout into my day. But accountability doesn't necessarily have to be face to face. A few weeks ago I did a 10 mile running challenge through the Nike+ app started by @deactivatedfatgirl (check her out on IG and her blog on tumblr) that showed my progress with 100+ runners across the country.



I didn't finish first...but I finished!

   Seeing everyone's mileage go up kept me on task so I could finish the challenge. Since then I've added a few friends on the app and the competitor in me has kept up with running because I want to be at the top of the mileage list, or as close as possible.
   There are many free apps that will let you recruit your friends to muster up some motivation. Check some of them out here and here . If you know of any more please send them my way!


A moment of publicized insecurity...

   I've been chubby my whole life. My mom said when I was a baby I was shaped like a lime. By age 4, I was too heavy for her to carry me despite my many adorable pleas to be picked up. I can remember from a young age trying to exercise to lose weight. As I grew older I ran the gamut in diets trying to lose this gut o' mine: starvation, low calorie, no carb, fruit only, master cleanse (I only lasted 3 days); if it looked like it worked, I was trying it.
   As I've gotten older I've come to realize that the healthiest way to lose weight is proper nutrition and regular exercise and the last couple of years I've been pretty good about keeping it up. But this belly is stubborn! It's something that I know is going to take time to overcome and I'm taking it day by day but everybody has bad days. Today is one of mine.
   Some days I look in the mirror and I see how far I've come and I feel like the finest thing on this earth. Step aside Naomi! On days like today...I look at where I want to be and my lack of satisfaction with my physique has me researching weight loss surgeons in my area and feeling guilty about eating ANYTHING.
   So what do I do in those moments? I used to run to my nearest fast food place and seek momentary delicious solace which would lead to a binge that could run from days to weeks. These days I do my best to acknowledge what I'm feeling, cry if I need to, and use it as motivation to stay on my journey. No sense in sabotaging the work I've already done. It's like starting to build a skyscraper, wanting it to be finished and then knocking it all down in frustration. Madness. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. The point is that I'm trying and doing my best to stay on course. And that's all I can ask of myself. Maybe this will help someone who feels the same way. This is more a letter to myself than anyone else but if it applies to you, be encouraged. It's a long road to where I want to be but one I will gladly travel.

Free Fitness Friday: Running groups

   Running has never been my favorite activity but I've come to appreciate it over the last few months. It's free, it works your entire body, and you can do it anywhere. Lately I've run farther, longer, amd more often than I ever thought I could or would. I've increased my speed, and I feel a real sense of accomplishment once I've finished. Sometimes, however, I'm not that motivated and need a little encouragement/competition/accountability to keep me going. I do this with a running group here in DC. If you're interested in finding a running group of your own, on meetup.com there are tons of running groups ranging from beginner to advanced. Besides the exercise, these groups are a great way to meet new people.

   The group that I run with that is helping DC stay healthier and build community through running is the District Running Collective. They meet every Wednesday at The Coupe on 11th st NW. The runs are anywhere from 2-4 miles and incorporate calisthenics. At the end there is usually a physical challenge and the winners are awarded prizes (gift certificates, gym memberships, etc.) Everyone is really encouraging and they have pacers to make sure that no one gets left behind. I love this group because it's people of all backgrounds and body sizes engaging in a healthy activity that encourages bonding. Check them out on facebook and IG (@districtrunningcollective). If you're in the DC area, come join us! You won't regret it.


Photos are often taken during our runs. This was me last Wednesday running up the steps at Cardozo High School.

If you like what they're doing but don't happen to be in the DC area, start your own! Happy running!

Black Supergirl!

In my first post I posted an image of a Black Supergirl and I said that I did not know who drew it. After a little research, I found the illustrator! I want to give credit where credit is due so here is the full image with their watermark. Check out his work on his tumblr page and his blog at http://illuminatedarkness.blogspot.com. He's got some really cool illustrations :-)

DIY: Face moisturizer

   I haven't bought traditional face moisturizer in a few years. I find the ones in the store to be too greasy and I have more than enough of that going on in these pores of mine. I also think that charging me $7 for a face lotion when I pay less than $4 for body lotion doesn't add up. I found a simple recipe a few years ago that provides me with the moisture my face needs without making me look like a shiny penny. It's super simple and saves me a couple of dollars that I can put towards my SmartTrip card (rates have gone up AGAIN as of today...boo Metro!). So here it is. You will need just 2 ingredients:

1) Aloe Vera gel: I usually get the bottle for $2.99 at Trader Joe but right now I have this one by Fruit of the Earth. I think it was a little over $3.

2) Glycerin: I find this at CVS for about $5. Glycerin is a humectant which means it pulls moisture from the air (many beauty products contain it) and brings it into your lovely skin. The bottom half of my face tends to get very dry so the glycerin really helps to balance it out with the oily top half. But you have to be careful with it because too much glycerin on your skin will actually pull the moisture OUT of that pretty face of yours.

How to make the moisturizer:

1) Put about a dime sized amount of the aloe vera gel in your hand.

2) Add 2 drops of glycerin. You don't need a lot. Promise.

3) Rub together in your hands

4) Apply

That's it. Super simple and quick. Looking at the costs up front it may seem more expensive than a traditional face moisturizer but the Aloe Vera Gel typically lasts me about 2-3 months and I JUST finished my first bottle of glycerin that I bought 3 years ago. Try it out and let me know how you like it. And share with your friends! Together we can build a more frugal and beautiful America! :-)

Free Fitness Friday

   I gave up my gym membership to Washington Sports Club a few months ago. While I loved it there, I've been trying to cut costs. I don't care what these market experts say; the recession is real, alive, and kicking and I'm trying to keep as many coins in my pocket as I can. Plus I need to chip in to bail out my boo Felon Bae.

   I've been working out long enough to know that I'm going to keep it up with a membership or not. Since breaking up with the gym I've discovered so many ways to maintain this fit life without breaking the bank. So once a week I'll share my findings with you and please send me your ideas too. I'll try to make my suggestions universal but there will also be a focus specific to the DC area.

   So on this first Free Fitness Friday, my advice to you to get your exercise on on a minimal budget is: check out your local recreation centers. There are 2 recreation centers in my neighborhood: one that is 2 blocks from my house and another that is only 2 bus stops away. Both of these facilities have workout rooms complete with weights and cardio machines (treadmills, ellipticals). One of them has free fitness classes multiple days a week. So even if I don't have the motivation to get through a workout on my own, I can drop into a class and burn those calories. For those in the DC area you can check out where all facilities are located here and the schedule of classes here. For those outside of the DC area, send me links to recreation centers in your city. I'll compile a list so we can have a one stop shop to point our friends to.

   If you like what you're reading, please feel free to share with friends. I'm new to this blogging thing so if you have suggestions, send those too. I'm not an expert at this; I'm just a woman with some time on her hands and some things to share. Hopefully some of it helps.

Geek by day...Frugal superhero by night

So Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. I get to dress up in something completely outlandish that also allows me to put my skills, talents, and love of a bargain to good use. This was my costume I made last year:

                                                         I was Woman Woman Nubia.

Bet you didn't know there was a Black Wonder Woman did you? Well I only found out last year myself in my never ending pursuit of a novel costume idea. Wonder Woman cost me less than $20 from head to toe. I also made my version of a Poison Ivy costume a couple of years prior that cost me a grand total of $7.98:

I'm currently working on this version of a Storm costume...

as well as making a hood for a Red Riding Hood costume. I'm having some trouble finding a well-priced base piece for Storm so if you have any hints, shout em out.

I've been watching Heroes of Cosplay lately and that has me thinking I might want to show up at a convention in one of my creations. What I will NOT be doing is spending hundreds of dollars to make said creations. My parents taught me to sew from a young age and while I never enjoyed it then, it's a skill that has proven quite useful and cost effective in pursuing this hobby of mine.
    A costume can be both fantastic and cheap if you start early enough. Because it's a hobby of mine, I'm constantly on the lookout for good deals on pieces that can be incorporated. Good places to find these deals:

1. Thrift stores. The base piece for Wonder Woman was a bathing suit I got for $6 at a place by where I live. Poison Ivy was a $7 dress and an $.88 plastic vine from another thrift store. If you have an idea of what you want to be and take your time, the thrift store can be your best friend.
2. Your closet. There's nothing I love better than a $free.99 special. I rarely throw away clothes because I always feel like they can be repurposed for a costume. I've got bags of scraps in my closet that I'm constantly re-evaluating for usage. The gold patches for Wonder Woman were from some old jeans that I cut, spray painted and sewed on. The head piece was an old belt and I already owned the boots.
3. Freecycle/craigslist. To reiterate: I love free. They may not have it in every city but freecycle is a way people give away things they don't use anymore or ask their neighborhood for things they are looking for that someone may have and not be using. Wonder Woman's gloves were a freecycle find (sidenote: I've also gotten a fantastic dresser and a television off of freecycle). You can also check CL's free section to see what people are giving away.

Now comes the hard/fun part depending on how you look at it. Aside from my parents showing me how to sew on buttons and repair minor tears, I'm not a trained seamstress but I've become pretty resourceful and make generous use of Google and Youtube. Sewing can seem like a daunting task but once you learn the basics it's not that bad. There are plenty of online tutorials on how to sew and at least in the DC area, I've seen free workshops to teach basic stitching. Investing a little bit of time to learn up front is a big payoff in the end. Needle and thread are more cost effective than a hot glue gun and if you make a mistake, it's easier to repair without visible evidence of it.

The last part you need is creativity. Sometimes I have to make alterations based on my body type and the tools that I have on hand. I want my costume to look as close to the prototype as possible, but I also want it to look good on me.

So, do any of you have any tricks/tips? Need some? Let me know. I would love to learn from you or help you work out a costume plan of your own. I'll keep you updated on the ones I'm working on now.

So I went to a sci-fi Burlesque show...

    I should have mentioned in my welcome that I live in DC. Quel surprise. Young, black and living in the District; how unique. Whatever, I love it here.
     So this past Friday there was a Burlesque show at the Black Cat that was called Whedonism. It's burlesque based on Joss Whedon's amazing catalog of work. If you want to check it out, the group that does it is called Evil League of Ecdysiasts.
     I biked there ahead of time for the Dr. Who Happy Hour. This was my first time at the Black Cat believe it or not. The decor was cool and comfortable but Black Cat please start accepting debit/credit cards. I am morally opposed to ATM fees and would rather walk around the block and get cash back at the Rite-Aid than pay whatever Cayman Islands bank that runs your ATM a fee to get my coins that I work so hard for.
     After my cash finding mission I settled in. I've never been a big Dr. Who fan but this episode was pretty good. It was called "The Crimson Horror" and was a nice little appetizer for the entree of geekiness that was coming up. I didn't get my tickets ahead of time and the first show was sold out but I bought a ticket off of someone who was willing to go to the later show. Shout out to Chance even though you will probably never see this. I got a seat right up close to the stage so I had a great view. The performances were really funny; it was less about trying to titillate the audience and more about just being comfortable in your skin and having a good damn time on stage. The women came in all shapes and sizes and had me thinking that I could get on stage and do a shimmy or two for the Vine. Apparently they all make their own costumes too which I loved because that is a hobby of mine (I'll show you guys my catalog of costumes one of these days). There were routines from Buffy (the #1 series of my teenage years), Angel, Firefly, the Avengers, and some more that I can't remember at the moment but I got my sci-fi life on that very evening. Shout out to Gigi Holliday who gave me some great tips on where to get stuff for future costumes and showed out in her Avengers routine. Keep repping for us black geekettes.
   Overall I had a great time and I just found out that Black Cat has a BSG happy hour on Saturdays. I will definitely be going to one of those and will let you know how it goes. Or you can come join me and we can watch Adama kick some Cylon ass together. Later!

Welcome!

The title should be self-explanatory. I'm black and I like geeky shit. Hopefully you like geeky shit too and will enjoy what I write about. It's not going to be on any one topic so one day it might be health and the next one might be on how to make your own curtains. I'm going to figure out how to make this sight prettier and and all that jazz so have patience. Suggestions and comments are welcome...trolling and negativity are not. Enjoy!

RE the pic: got it from the IG of @mrmannyfitness. Don't know who it belongs to but I'm not trying to infringe. I just thought it was cool, geeky, and black...like me :-)