That's thai way I like it..uh huh..

Thai Turkey Salad

Serves: 8
Serving Size: 1.25 oz salad mix and 2 oz turkey

For a filling and fresh lunch, combine mango, turkey, and spinach!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 bag (10 ounces) mixed salad greens, chilled

1 pound honey roasted deli turkey breast, cut into thin strips
1 mango, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup green onions, sliced
4 Tablespoons lightly salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS
1. In small microwave-safe bowl, combine yogurt, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and hot sauce. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and microwave at 50% power 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, until brown sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool while preparing salad. In large bowl, combine chilled salad greens, turkey, mango, bell pepper and onion.

2. To serve, combine salad and dressing, tossing to coat. Top with peanuts.

If fresh mango is unavailable, look for jars of peeled and sliced mango in the produce department. Cut slices into cubes to equal 2 cups.

NUTRITION INFO
Calories: 180
Fat: 6.4 g
Carbohydrates: 10.9 g
Protein: 20.5 g

Before the Dawn~Dream a Little Dream with me...

Things come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle - Abraham Lincoln

Envisioning yourself where you truly want to be, not where you think you suppose to be can be daunting for ones who think they have no imagination. Adding that to envisioning yourself achieving your weight release/health goals can send the faint a heart straight to a place, any place that has nothing to do with facing the task at hand.

But on the other hand...

There are people who think all they have to do is imagine something and it just happens. That visualization is the end all be all to bring something to fruition simply by envisioning. That by simply imagining it without no work being put into it riding on a magical mystical tour it (whatever you want) will plop into your lap because you thought it up. But that truly is a very passive place to be. For the record there are times when passivity ain't a bad thing.

As one who dreams unabashedly & freely with no plans to stop, (in fact one of my perennial favorite cartoons was "Bobby's World" that was out in the 70's and I pray is still airing somewhere). Bobby's World was of an adorable 4 year old on his Big Wheel bike who had an incredible imagination and live well with them. But the dreams existed in his world and parents had to step in many time for a reality check.

But if imagination was all it took, I would have been a overnight success. Well as Eddie Cantor,actor, once said: "It takes twenty years to be an overnight success"

Traveling with a women's empowerment conference for almost a decade and that was a common theme. I watch many women step out, did the work and were successful, there were others who did the work, had not done the visualization & were less successful (perhaps) and the ones who could not see it, avoided doing the work and you can imagine the end result.

But among the ones who were successful said that many times their success was far beyond what they could imagine! And those who's vision did not meet reality. Stuff happened.

Shucks if my vision had been on target I would have my MacArthur Fellow by now, been interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning and received my Kennedy Honor in the Arts.
And who's to say it may not happen at some point? But other things I had envision came to fruition, but let me tell you it was with a lot of hard work and sacrificing, a great sense of humor and a bucket full of tears.

In fact, I was watching the Kennedy Honors last night and the first segment was on Morgan Freeman, one of my favorite actors. Though he had started the business age 9 he was 50, yes, 50 before he achieve his breaking movie "Driving Miss Daisy" and now at 71 years young, he is receiving this honor. He was no less talented at age 20, 30 or 40 and created an impressive body of work, but still he was 50 which is the kiss of death in an industry that worships the young to get his breakout movie. He could have stopped and threw in the towel early on but what a loss to us all if he had...

For one, I do believe in having vision and encourage people to think out of the box, to use or re-use their ability to imagine. Imagination is as necessary to life as is breathing. It has kept me going many a day when especially when things seem bleak.

But I know I also have to put the work in and after it is all said in done post all of it, to let things work themselves out. Sometimes things working themselves out may take a direction you least expected to enjoy things way beyond anything you would have imagined. This is the part where passivity could be a good thing. When you have done the envisioning, the homework, put things in action, then sitting back and letting things work itself out is good. Passive, but in a good way.

"The Bible stated: Joseph dreamt another dream...Dream another dream. If one thing fails, try something else. Learn from your mistakes and try it again. So what if it got hard for a season, it will only be that way for a season". ~Tyler Perry

Dream a little dream with me...

How cool is that?

A woman of somekind!

By Dello Duverney ©70


She was sixteen,
Had a mind out of this world!

She was no li'l girl....

She was a woman of somekind!
She was a woman of somekind!

Although she wasn't too fine,
Now she knows what is' going on.
Knows What's right and

What's wrong...
She also feels what is weak....
And what is strong!

She's a woman of somekind!
She's a woman of somekind!


She experiences love with its problems,
She could tell you things you never heard of.
She can give you something
You never dream of!
A talk out of this world

As I said, "She's no li'l girl"!

She's a woman of somekind!
She's a woman of somekind!

She remembers the past,
She knows about the present,
She thinks of the future.
She is some kind of female,
She's different from all other girls,

Although, she is living in this world..

She's not prejudice, she's not crazy!
She is helpful & loving!
She is mature in the mind
And too far gone in the mouth!
She was too far gone to be forgotten!
And too sweet to get ate up!
She is LOVE!
All rights reservedDDV©70

A hair Raising Experience

Thinking about a new hair without a whole lot of work. The principle I said about having real plus women modeling real clothes applies to hair. Women of all sorts of sizes and ages.

We should be wearing our clothes and hair not the clothes and hair wearing us!

And every woman should have at least one red lipstick. The right tone of red for her.

The red lipstick Nia Long is sporting is more my speed a orange tinged red.

Its all in the weigh you do the thin(ngs) you do.

How cool is that?

If you are like me and Love Color & Panache

Again Ashro, Newport News & Jessica London http://www.jessicalondon.com/ who for me carries more variety of Tall Plus

For those who are really casual or informal all the companies carry a large selection of informal,comfy casual clothes and the real clothes horse will have her fashionista desires satisfied.

The red top also comes in black for the not so bold

the lime top comes in 15 different colors but runs a little small.

Now see me, I wuld wear the red top and the purple skirt together or the lime with the purple. And either wuld go with the grey herribone skirt for a toned down look.

Too Too

A few of my favorite things and yes, they are sizes 18-24. And yes I do wear them. And very affordable except for the Inspira suit, all the items are $32-$89 & the Inspira suit is $138.

Top to bottom Newport News http://www.newportnews.com/ &

Ashro http://www.ashro.com/

How many times have someone said or you said I am too big for___________ when it comes to color, style and hair. Or someone which seems to be a newer but truly is the same old song "age appropriate" way of telling you that you are too old, too fat too something to wear fashionable clothes.

Though still a long way to grow finally some of the designers are discovering that not only do lagniappe women ( "land-Yap"~ Creole for something extra) want more then a big tent with a hole cut out for the head and arms, but they had the discretionary income to buy something more.

So while it may not all be altruism or ding the right thing and more about the bottom line, we are seeing more clothes selections to purchase from. The other part is recognizing that not all plus or women have one shape so you are seeing more plus petite (which is not a contradiction) and tall plus. And have varying taste and have no desire say like in my case want to look like what my 93 year old mother would not wear!

Now who knows...Maybe one day some of the one who create for plus women will use real plus women modeling the clothes rather then a size 6 with padding, which if I could clue them in, is laughable when you see these tiny tiny arms poking out of sleeves of mumus that Mrs. Roper of Threes Company favored.

And when I say real plus I am talking from 20-32 and beyond . When did size 12 and 14 become plus? Jumonia, Spiegel & a few others are setting the stage and hopefully in time others will follow. Nothing like a well fitted, quality and affordable dressing to make one feel good while on the road to a healthy, for them, weight which for some will be an 18 not a 0.

So when you tell yourself or someone else tells you that you are too_________. Respond if you feel like with "You are right... I am too, too!

Now how cool is that?

Seeing is Achieving

"Steal Away" Sculpture by the late Tina Allen (1949-2008)www.tinaandrews.com

You are missed...

Picture Weight Loss Success With Visual Cues
-- By Mike Kramer, Staff Writer http://www.sparkspeople.com/

Visual images hold amazing power. We can all still “see” the Challenger disaster, the flag rising over Iwo Jima, even our own high school yearbook pictures. The images are still with us today. And so are the emotions that go with them.You can use this power to your advantage to help you lose weight. If you surround yourself with visual cues, you have a great chance of meeting that goal. A picture of what you want (or don’t want) to look like; a vacation postcard that you’re using as a reward; a picture of your kids who you want to stick around for – these images can stick around and pull at you even when they’re not in sight.Seeing is believing. Seeing is also achieving.

How Do Visual Cues Work?

First, let’s look at how the brain processes information. The mind simply can’t keep up with the 36 million bits of visual data that bombard it every second. So the conscious mind doesn’t bother trying. It simply passes most of the info along to be processed somewhere else.According to brain specialist Amy K. Hutchens, 99% of learning is done on a non-conscious level. “That’s a fancy way of saying that vision dominates your brain activity and behaviors,” she says. Basically, what we see can determine how we act.

Seeing The Good Stuff

Your brain needs a method of filtering through the clutter and locking onto what’s important. This is where the science comes in. The “reticular activation system” (RAS) sorts through those millions of bits of data, making sure that you’re only aware of certain things. It calls your attention only to the details that you don’t want to miss, such as hearing your name in a crowd.Have you ever bought a home or rented an apartment? Once you made a conscious decision to start shopping, it probably seemed like For Sale or For Rent signs were popping up everywhere. In actuality, the signs probably had been there for months, but you just noticed them for the first time. That’s because this specific priority was now “registered” with your RAS.Weight loss is a priority that can be “registered” the same way.

Mare Petras, a fitness expert who helped organize the first Great American Workout, sees this as a perfect reason to write down or put visuals to your goals. She explains, “If you put down a solid vision of how you want to look, your vision will pop up when you need it. In my experience, overweight people are sometimes powerless over impulses. Seeing a visual helps them to stop and think – and make better choices. It adds color to a black and white goal.”

Once you write something down or see a picture of your goal, your brain starts to work on that goal without you even realizing it. You’ll notice people wearing the same swimsuit you want; you’ll see bike and walking paths that you didn’t notice before; you’ll see healthier menu items that you skipped over in the past. You’ll be drawn toward making the right decisions.

Positive Pictures = Positive Progress

Another way visual cues can help keep your motivation high is through the power of positive association. Seeing a positive stimulus increases the production of serotonin, which is responsible for feelings of well-being and satisfaction. Seeing that same cue often enough builds a pattern of positive response that creates momentum. Soon, the positive feeling will transfer to your goals as well.Dr. Daphne Stevens, a psychotherapist with 30 years’ experience working with weight control and fitness issues, says that this connection between picture and motivation only grows stronger as you achieve and see results. “Pardon the pun, but a sense of mastery ‘feeds’ on itself,” she says. “The satisfaction of doing positive things for the body substitutes for the quick-fix rush of sugar or simple carbs that put on the pounds.”So write your goals down right now, plaster that fridge with positive pictures, tape an inspiring message to your dashboard, do whatever it takes to surround yourself with visual cues.You’ll see success – both in your mind and in your life.