Today was the 2ndAnnual Sista Strut Breast Cancer Awareness 3K walk in St. Louis.  I participated in the Sista Strut last year .   It was held in Forest Park, and started at the history museum.  My Lawyer friend and my Paralegal friend joined me and thousands of other Black women bringing awareness to the terrible disease. 

Too often my African-American culture does not focus on health and nutrition like it should.  At most of the endurance events that I have participated in, there are very few people of color.  However, today it was refreshing and encouraging to see so many women of every shape and size there to support the cause.  The Sistas were so brave and strong.  One woman proudly wore her bald head like a crown and another wore high heel shoes and ran the whole time.  I was impressed by both of them!  It was so good to see my girls since I don’t work with either of them anymore.  After the walk, we went a community pampering event.  They did blood pressure checks, had free massages, manicures, pedicures and facials.  I even won free tickets to tomorrow’s Ram’s Football game.  After that, I went to brunch with my Lawyer friend and several other ladies.  I looked up the menu online the day before, so that I could be prepared.  But, when we got there, the restaurant had amazing specials like rainbow sprinkle pancakes and cream cheese stuffed French toast.  I opted for the Skinny Scramble, which had egg whites, fresh fruit and wheat toast.  Although I really wanted the special stuff, I was able to still enjoy their company and the brunch experience without loading up on sugar and bad carbs.  I’m still taking baby steps to get to my goal.  After brunch I went to the nail shop and shopping with my Mom.  Then, that evening my Big Little Sister invited me over for dinner.  I could hear my niece screaming “Auntie! Auntie!” through the closed front door, and then she gave me an enthusiastic hug like I was a celebrity.  There’s nothing like a 3 year old greeting you like she hasn’t seen you in a million years, when she totally saw you the night before…  My Sister made chicken, eggplant parmesan and a corn medley.  The eggplant was delicious, but my stomach didn’t like it.  Unfortunately, that’s a veggie that I have to cross off the list.  I think its the consistency and mushy texture.  I’m weird like that…just like the Greek Yogurt.  However, I enjoyed the chicken and corn while I played with my honey bunny.

2 Comments
  1. Carli:
    On the eggplant. One trick is that you have to sweat it before you cook it; basically you put the cut up eggplant in a saltwater bath for about 15 minutes. It pulls all the nasty taste out of it … it is called sweating!

    Funny when you think about it. It is really like a brine. You wash it off, let it air dry, and them cook it however you want to. If your sister did all that – and you still had the upset tummy – then I would say ditch the eggplant, but if she didn’t you might want to try it again. I can’t handle it at all unless I do the saltwater bath first. Jaime Oliver on Oliver’s Twist taught me that trick! Good luck!

  2. Congrats on your Strut participation! It is so true that at most events you don’t see many people of color. I have pointed that out so often when I’m trying to get my sisters and friends to do a race with me. I tell them ‘Yall gotta come and represent because someone’s gotta do it!’ That’s usually enough guilt to get them to join up. Though I was happy to get an invitation from a couple on my trail route for a walking/running group for people of color. They are attempting to get a team together for the Komen race in November. Of course I was down for it! Thanks to people like you, we are slowly but surely realizing we need to not only participate, but be leaders that encourage others. Rock on Carli!

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