Reinvention Day 1 - Make An Affirmation & Some Moves

From time to time I find myself needing to step my game up a notch in order to stay current as an artist. Well, this season, I'm finding myself challenged to take on the rest of 2012 with added goals that include recording projects, increased public interaction and brand expansion.

Taking on any new thing, now that Tuki is a toddler, is going to require new daily routines so I can manage my time more effectively in order to fit more tasks into my schedule without causing me to be overwhelmed.

In order to accomplish this, I'm going to do it starting from the inside out.  My first step is creating an affirmation so my mindset can be on GO!

As a Messianic Jew, I use faith to sustain me during transitional periods of my life. I turn to scriptures for jewels to solidify my foundations.

Proverbs 6:9-11

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ How long will you lie there, you sluggard? 
    When will you get up from your sleep?
¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest —
¹¹ and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

Proverbs 28:19

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁹ He who cultivates his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless people and pursuits will have poverty enough.

From these scriptures I am making this affirmation for myself:

"I am fully refreshed, full of profitable ideas and so are the people around me. My goals are attainable, lethargy is far from me and there is increase with everything I vigorously put my hands to."

Now to put my affirmation on my mirror where I can see it, recite it and live it!

Now for the outside, for this first day I'm incorporating an exercise that is already working wonders on my lower back and core.  Carrying Tuki until 39 weeks put my back and core muscles through some changes. It took my body a full 7 months to heal due to my having an emergency cesarean birth resulting in both a bikini line and vertical cut.  

I used to do these exercises to maintain my waistline before my pregnancy and they have once again become favorites for me, giving me back that hourglass shape by tightening my obliques and lower abs for a flatter tummy.  Here is fitness guru Jeanette Jenkins showing exactly how to do them: 

Exercise of the day! Love Handles Side Crunch: youtu.be/vwVXJKqWGpg via @youtube #Abs #Obliques #Core

— Jeanette Jenkins (@JeanetteJenkins) June 29, 2012

Be sure to follow Jeanette on Twitter & YouTube, she's the real deal! 

situations are shakers or stabilizers of your foundation

— Lady Legacy (@LadyLegacy) July 9, 2012

Tuki's 1st Pesach (Passover)

Victoria D'Artrionne Gunter

DOB: 6-14-11 | 10:04pm

Nickname: "Tuki" = Sweetness in Hebrew

Photography by Mommy

Dress courtesy of Big Cousin Kevin (Brooklyn)

Ralph Lauren Layette | Macy's NY, NY

Screw Your Pink Ribbon

The SCAR Project: Breast Cancer is NOT a Pink Ribbon

When I saw this post by my Auntie Paula on her Facebook wall, I was already in the know of understanding that the "pink ribbon" makes it cute to show your support. The reality of breast cancer survivors is the scars.

One of my nieces' mothers is a survivor of breast cancer and she is undergoing massive amounts of reconstructive surgeries on her breast. Her scars are not as neat as the women in this beautiful gallery are but with it being the 21st century, my hope is they will be.

My mother survived cervical cancer when I was 17. I remember vividly how weak she was after her hysterectomy. My pursuit to live a healthy lifestyle is a result of the fear I felt when she told me.

There is one photo in this gallery that made me tear up. As a woman, I wear both my breast proudly. They are a sign of my womanhood. It seems I felt this one woman's release in allowing herself to be photographed and seen in all her amazing beauty. She is indeed beautiful...the ugly stain of breast cancer couldn't cover that up.

Website:

http://www.thescarproject.org

Company Overview:

A temporary web gallery of some of The SCAR Project images can be viewed at: http://www.thescarproject.org/TheSCARProject30/

Mission:

The SCAR Project is a series of large-scale portraits of young breast cancer survivors shot by fashion photographer David Jay. Primarily an awareness raising campaign, The SCAR Project puts a raw, unflinching face on early onset breast cancer while paying tribute to the courage and spirit of so many brave young women.

Dedicated to the more than 10,000 women under the age of 40 who will be diagnosed this year alone The SCAR Project is an exercise in awareness, hope, reflection and healing. The mission is three-fold: Raise public consciousness of early-onset breast cancer, raise funds for breast cancer research/outreach programs and help young survivors see their scars, faces, figures and experiences through a new, honest and ultimately empowering lens.

The SCAR Project subjects range from ages 18 to 35 and represent the often overlooked group of young women living with breast cancer. (Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in young women ages 15-40). They journey from across America and the world to be photographed for The SCAR Project. Nearly 100 so far. The youngest 18.

Although Jay began shooting The SCAR Project primarily as an awareness raising campaign he was not prepared for something much more immediate . . . and beautiful: “For these young women, having their portrait taken seems to represent their personal victory over this terrifying disease. It helps them reclaim their femininity, their sexuality, identity and power after having been robbed of such an important part of it. Through these simple pictures, they seem to gain some acceptance of what has happened to them and the strength to move forward with pride.”