The Weekly Recap: August 24, 2014

Side note: have I introduced y’all to my new dog? Say hi to Saki the pit bull! (Yes, that means I now have Sake – spelled phonetically on purpose – and Sushi!)

Sorry it’s so late this week, but this has been a hell of a week!

What’s Most Important

A polite reminder that J Lo is 45. Forty. Five.

What’s most important? Getting your life from this pic. Whew.

Where I’m Going

FOCUS100, easily the most diverse tech conference ever, on October 3rd and 4th. Check them out here.

What I’ve Written

For EBONY.com, I wrote about avoiding back pain while you train, and I’m looking forward to doing a little more in-depth discussion here on the specifics of healthy, injury-free training!

On the Blog

First and foremost, I’m participating in #Blogust, which is a month-long campaign where bloggers, authors, and photographers share something new each day regarding an important “first time” in our lives. Every comment, share, and retweet earns a new child across the globe a vaccine. My post was about the “first time” Eddy proposed to me, and I’d love to have you share what YOUR favorite first time was in the comments!

What I’m Reading

Alice Goffman’s On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City is an eye-opening and life-changing book. As I’ve shared before, I’m doing research on how poverty affects wellness, and a large part of what contributes to poverty in the inner city is the criminalization of an area’s inhabitants. You can’t get jobs if you’re a felon.

And, while I think it’s fair to say, “Well, if you don’t want to become a felon, don’t commit crimes,” it’s a little bit deeper than that, and Goffman’s book lays that out beautifully thus far. It’s not just a matter of “because black women are better,” that black women are out-earning and out-performing our male counterparts – an increased effort to profit off of treating non-violent offenses like violent offenses is taking black men out one by one. The book is really expanding my expression of compassion and helping me understand. It’s good.

On the YouTube

I’m bringing Q&A Wednesday back! This week! And I’m toying with the idea of doing recipes. Who are your favorite YouTube chefs? Most of my favorites are natural hair and fitness types, so I’d love to hear who your favorites are!

Comments of the Week

I love this post. Thank you for helping us realize what has always been true….the only way to change is to do something different. I spent my last dollers on a body magic so i would look beautiful in a dress for my sisters wedding. I had such high hope it would make me look better and feel better and lose weight more easily. All I did was sweat ,itch and hurt the entire time. Did I look better…..yes, but at what cost. I couldnt wear that thing daily….I barely made it through 5 hours and then finally took it off in the bathroom at the reception hall. Its a girdle…..its temporary…..there is no magic to weight loss or reshaping your body or lifestyle. The magic is hard work, dedication, going hard when you have already given your all and realizing the inside matters so much more then the outside. Its easy to fall into a magical idea…….but its just not true. I sold mine at a yardsale as a girdle 🙂 i have since lozt 243 lbs through regular old diet and exercize. My magic was hearing my 6 year old say “mom when I grow up I wanna be healthy and fun like you” . I taught her truth ….I taught her reality…I taught her about making good choices….I taught her about self love……….with the body magic i would have only taught her how to look a little better in a dress  —  Melanie, talking about the body magic

Non-Scale Victories

I am working on my own pull-ups, and I’m closer than I’ve ever been now! They might be assisted for now, but still! That’s a full body burn for ya. Phew!

What are your #ScaleFree victories? Shoot, what are your scale-related victories? Share them both!

What You’re Writing

Did you write something on your blog this week? Tell us about it in the comments!