The Green Eyed Bandit

Monday, February 2, 2015

2014 in Review - Visions and Strutting 2014

I am not going to have 12 different posts on 2014. The beginning of the year was just adventurous. The next few posts will cover a few more things in a post.

In March, I hosted a couple of vision board parties. I facilitated one for my church Women's Ministry and another one with sistah friends.

There was one vision board virgin in the group of friends. She literally put on her board she wanted to go to Hawaii for her birthday later that month. She hadn't started planning it, but that was what she wanted to do. Guess what? She did it!

The ironic thing is I never completed a vision board for 2014. I vow to make one this year.

Another major event in March was the STRUT Awards. It is an awards program that honors regular women doing extrtaordinary things. The weekend is filled with events to empower, uplift women and young ladies. Women are recognized for their passion, drive, vision, compassion, and selflessness. 2014 was the year for teachers and yours truly was humbled to be one of the honorees.

Keisha Pooler gave the attendees an amazing free style poetic work. She literally had random people give her words and she weaved each word into a remarkable poem. I really wished I had recorded it.

The Art of Zion dance troupe performed a soul stirring dance that had everyone up on their feet. Many could not believe the talent of these middle and high school ladies. These ladies could easily be the next generation for Alvin Ailey!

The night ended with ladies strutted, shared, networked, empowered, and poured into one another. Great night for all!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

2014 in Review - Part 2 Cruise Edition

January started off rough!!! But February was so much brighter! February 1st the doctor informed me the mass was non cancerous.

STOP!!!! TIME FOR A PRAISE BREAK!!! My prayers were answered. I prayed and God showed up. During most of that experience, I believed the results were going to come back negative for cancer. However, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that fear crept in from time to time. I am grateful my village was in place ready to assist me if I had to go on that journey.

With the good news, I was ready for February. My cousin moved to Atlanta from Cali. I was and am so glad she is here. She arrived a few days before our family cruise. My family knows how to have a good time. A few of my friends went with us a few years ago. One my favorite people and bloggers, LadyLee posted about her adventures here. This time, a few of my sister's coworkers went. They too had a ball.

This was a week long cruise. We made port stops in Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cayman Islands. This is the first time I had been on a family cruise in a few years because of my teacher schedule. My family likes to go off season and I only have 1 break (in Feb) that works. We had a ball! I tell you my family have a bunch of comedians!!! It was never a dull moment.

These are shots from our stay at the Ritz before we headed to the ship. This was a huge contrast to the snow we had in Atlanta and Cleveland a few days before. We could not wait to get to warmer weather!

Below are some pictures from the Captain's Dinner