HAPPY FIRST FULL WEEK OF 2019, GUYS!!!!!!! so. my girl Erika had an adorable, chunky, healthy, baby boy recently, and i hopped on a plane with my baby girl and mommy to see them last week. navigating pregnancy, labor & delivery for the 1st time is hard enough, but adding medical school on top of that, whoa. i can’t even imagine, but Erika is doing it! it’s been done before and it won’t be the last time, but my hat(s) go all the way off to all mamas going for their dreams no matter what. she’s doing her best and taking it one day at a time. soon enough, she’ll be telling her son about how difficult, new, scary, and different things were around the time he was born, but by His grace, they got through them. enjoy this trip re-cappy-cap and HAPPY NEW YEAR to ya :)

i was up at 4a wednesday morning to hit the gym for an hour and wake UP! i knew i most definitely wouldn’t workout once we got to Nashville later that afternoon. yeah, i know myself and once i miss my morning window these days, its a wrap on any working out. i felt amaaaaazing as usual once i got back home, popped my daily vitamins, and got the family ready.

#CarCuisine didn’t feel like cooking eggs, so i grabbed some previously baked chicken tenderloin, chopped it up, and added some homemade guac and salsa and called it breakfast. i made Sonny a huge pot of my turkey veggie chili and baked up those tenderloins the night before so he’d have prepared proteins while i was gone.

i feel like this is the longest i’ve been away from my knuckle heads…idk! i could sit here and think about it but i ain’t got that kinda time. lol

his face = #fakenews bwahahaha! thank God for the marco polo & duo apps. i’ll BRB, hubs.

3 generations…taking flight!

this was Kosi’s 2nd time flying the friendly skies and our first time flying together! i didn’t take my first plane ride until i was like 15! she did amazing; i nursed her shortly after take off and she slept the rest of the way there.

nah, this was my kinda flight. 1 hr and 13 minutes. felt like we were already coming down as soon as we got up there good! Erika’s hubby, Tim scooped us up at the airport and we went straight to their adooooorable crib!

we sat, chatted, and caught up for a good while! it was such a joy to meet and love on Erika’s baby boy before she had to go study for her tests the following day. Tim whipped us up a yummy dinner before we hit the sack: rotisserie chicken, brown rice, and mixed greens w/ avocado, and cherry tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette.

for dessert, yogurt & granola with fresh blueberries and honey. just my style :)

sigh. it’s always something, right? i opened up my notebook after everyone had settled in so i could get a lil’ new year blogging done and whaddaya know. i carried my notebook in my backpack (which i carried on the plane myself) so no earthly idea how this happened! my reaction to these types of mishaps is my current focus; this didn’t steal my joy, ruin my trip, and it can and will be fixed. bloop.

good morning, baby Timothy!!! Kosi was very curious and well mannered… when i wasn’t holding the baby. lol. yeah…she was not amused at the sight of me ogling Timothy (like at all), but i made sure she never felt left out or neglected in the least.

i came downstairs just as Erika was heading out for test #1 and got the chance to wish her well and send her off with a big hug! i then made my mom and i some eggs, and i now want to buy brown eggs from now on just cause they looked so cool in their fridge. #onlyreason my mom says she can taste the difference between the brown and white eggs but i definitely cannot! can you?

Tim asked me if i was ready to go running and i totally was! while he went to get ready, i toasted some whole grain bread, slapped some peanut butter on there, and gobbled it up. this will most definitely be my pre-marathon snack right here. only i’ll eat about 3 mo slices though! it doesn’t make me go to the rr, it’s filling, not too heavy, and gives me the energy i need to get through my long runs. by the way, i filmed a My First 20 Miler VLOG i’ll get up on my YT channel ASAP!

2019 in training, bay-beeeee! less than 2 weeks out from the Chevron Houston Marathon.

both houston & nashville had yucky weather for a few days! it was drizzling a tiny bit and around 40ish degrees during our run along the Cumberland River Trail.

Tim stopped for a moment about 2 miles in and pointed to the training facility for the Tennessee Titans over there in the background. way cool! Tim has done several marathons and ran the Chevron last year; i’m currently using his training plan.

10K, done! Tim definitely upped my pace (which is usually a 9:00 - 9:30min mile) and i appreciated and welcomed the challenge.

we headed back home to my mom and the munchkins and i immediately took a much needed, warm bath, put on my fuzzy socks. and made a yummy salad with roasted turkey deli meat, blueberries and balsamic vinaigrette.

then i whipped out Erika’s yoga mat and did a few of my favorite post-long run stretches. filming that video for you guys next as well.

later that evening, once Erika got home and settled, Tim took us to Whole Foods for snacks! i also wanted to get a few dairy-free items for me. this particular Whole Foods’ Whole Body department had its very own store, right across the street (on the left). never seen that before.

oh hello there, bulk aisle.

we got back home and Tim made another delicious dinner (ground chorizo + fresh spinach + orzo pasta ) but i totally didn’t get any pictures of it, ugh! Tim told me they have tried a couple meal kit delivery services and just keep the recipe cards to reuse them again and again. sounds like a great idea to me.

the next morning, i checked on my guys again.

Chiso: i miss my Kosi :(

Dego: i miss Granny :(

Sonny: i fell asleep with the TV on last night :)

he knows i need it silent and completely dark to fall asleep at night. lol

yall. i have contemplated getting this gluten-free pancake mix while doing my own grocery shopping at home in Houston several times but i always put it back on the shelf. i was elated to see it in Tim and Erika’s pantry so i could finally try before i buy! they were…. IN-credible. definitely the best boxed, GF mix i’ve tasted yet. i said i was going to buy a few boxes once i got home and i can’t wait to serve them to my family.

this time, mom made the eggs with Kosi while i whipped up the cakes.

pancake. perfection. non-grainy, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth…. name a better GF pancake mix!!! no, really, name one. i’ll try them next.

ya gotta nourish to flourish, Koko. eat up!

Erika left for her next 2 tests a little later that day, so i ate up all this good fuel to get ready for my workout at the gym.

i picked this dairy-free creamer up at Whole Foods the night before! i didn’t see my usual fave but this did the trick. Tim is a coffee drinker too, so i was looking forward to a hot cup to start my morning.

i often wonder if she’ll be taller than me. we shall see.

this variety tho! so many toys to play with at the Centennial Sportsplex! they even a track! Tim was trying them out for the first time himself and was impressed by both the amenities and the price! Erika is only 1 month postpartum but hopes to be cleared to workout again soon.

“great shot of the Nashville sky line right here.” you’re right, Tim, let me take a picture.

Erika returned shortly after we got home again and the time had come to really celebrate and hang out!! i am overjoyed that she is a mom. we met on our 9th grade basketball team and throughout the highs, lows, and seasons of life, we remain sisters and friends.

after asking each other what we wanted to eat about 30 times we finally settled on vegan cuisine from The Southern V!! Tim mentioned how they received rave reviews all across the board, so we pulled up the menu online and made our selections.

i ordered their chick’n strips with a side of mac n cheeze (cuz i wanted to taste some) for Kosi,

(she liked them!)

and my mom and i both went with their gluten-free beyond burger. i had turnip greens on the side and my mom wanted kettle chips. i enjoyed it and would love to try more vegan spots in my own city.

Tim offered to teach my mom how to play spades so we could get a nice, “friendly” game going! i lived on campus at the University of Houston while in undergrad and Erika (she attended TSU across the street) and i would play with other students of my dorm until like 3am in the morning. good times.

Tim made everyone some hot tea while we played; i went with the honey vanilla chamomile.

unfortunately…….. Tim and my mom spanked us, smh! they were losing for the longest then went blind 6 or 5 or whatever and barely won. #stillsalty *rolls eyes*

morning, Koko! her hair bonnet nowhere to be found as usual. this was the morning of the last day of our trip and someone in particular was ready to see us go:

if he wasn’t upstairs locked in his room, he was right there in that very spot looking into the house windows with a, “who are these people and why are they all up in my space??” demeanor, haha! we’ll be outta your hair in a few hours, Kingston.

Kosi is allergic to peanuts, so whenever Dego requests peanut butter toast only every morning, this is normally Kosi’s “peanut butter”. i also give her almond, cashew, and sun butter as well.

Tim snuck out and got a few pastries from Panera Bread for us, yuuuum!

our flight was later that afternoon, so my mom and i headed out to visit a local, historical lunch counter in downtown per Tim’s suggestion: The Woolworth on 5th.

deeply honored and standing there because of those student’s actions, sacrifices, and boldness. my mom has shared so many of her childhood segregation stories with me over the years and they crossed my mind several times as we wandered around.

the front of the menu displayed the food selections, and the back of the menu provided a history lesson on the building as well as highlighting key, instrumental figures who helped get the de-segregation ball rolling in Nashville.