YES! I'M STILL ALIVE...

Hi all its me. I think I'm going to change my name to the yearly blogger, that name might be more suiting for me, LOL! Well what's new with me. Let's see well I've moved back home to Virginia to be closer to my family, Mikki is finally potty trained, and I have a full time job at a nursing home. I love my new job, I love working with the elderly. Its a joy everyday to go to work and make an old person smile or piss them off because you're trying to hold in your laugh because they are demented and don't know what they are saying. I know all are wondering if I am still running well lets just say I am working hard trying...Let just say I go to work for 7am-3pm and go to practice right after that, but I am delighted to be back in VA although I do miss the Ville at times. Anyways I'll be back soon and I will try to blog more often.

It's Potty Time...

Well, the time is here... Micailah is almost two now and I guess we've been potty training since January, lol... Yeah around about January 2008, I bought a potty for Mikki because she had started taking off her pamper and trying to get on the big pot. Unfortunately we are still at about 1% of the potty training phase, lol. I guess I really haven't had much time to work with her but I think she just doesn't want to go in the pot. She fakes and says she has to use the pot all the time and she gets on it and does absolutely NOTHING and then puts her pull up on and goes potty in them. AAAAAHHHHHHH! Yes I am so tired of buying pampers, they are expensive $$$. I plan on having her trained by December 2008, Kameisha thinks I'm crazy for setting a date but my New Years Resolution will be Anti-Pampers/Pull-Ups! And I'm so serious, lol...

UPDATE...Mikki has been using the potty faithfully when we go out in public, now we need to transfer that over to the house!

THE BELGIAN PRINCESS...

Servaas from Belgium and Bo from China


Puneet from India


My Tasty Meal I Cooked "Asparagus Tips"


This is some of the prizes you win, 30%vol



Our Family Dinner

So, I've been named the "Belgian Princess", by my closest friends. I've been giving this name because when I go overseas I live in the town called Leuven which is in Belgium. Last year was my first year going to Leuven and it was definitely an experience. Everything is different from the US, the people, the food, transportation, the prices and the way things work. But I love it...I love being in diverse situations because you learn a lot about yourself. As many know I am very friendly so this year I was very cordial with the locals in my building and I have provided pics of them and we all actually became really good friends during my stay, they all wanted to keep in touch with me. This year was different for me because I was not able to run as well as I did last year due to issues, but I still enjoyed Leuven...

SLACKER...

"I am so happy to be here"
















"Big Ig" and "Queen Ig"















"I am soooo ready to go to my room..."























"I LOVE PAIN..." MY WONDERFUL COACH















"OREGONIAN HOSPITALITY"

So I know you maybe wondering what happened to me, did I fall off the face of the earth, or something more catastrophic like pass out for good from running Quarter Quarter... I didn't... Of Course Not... I am just a slacker and I am very random with things so now I am back in action for the moment. So last big thing for me was the 2008 Olympic Trials and as we all know or some may not I did not make it out of the 1st round. What happened? I don't know could be the strained muscle in my back or could just be that I wasn't present in the race at the moment and I blanked out and when I finally realized where I was I panicked and my chance for '08 went out the window...Well there's always 2012, if God be willing or if I be willing (jk). We will see what running holds for me because I have so many other goals that I would like to achieve and running doesn't really allow you to go after other dreams besides the running ones... I went into about a 3 day long depression after my little dreams were shattered but come on Nikki Dee bka "Lil Ig" doesn't stay down for long, I got on the grind and got cheered up by friends (Kameisha and Dave) and family that let me know something that I should never forget, that running isn't Life, at least not my life... It is just one facet of my life that can change today or tomorrow and I am just thankful that I am able to run now before I get really bad arthritis in my knees and corns on my toes (LOL). No but really I am thankful for what I have accomplished and how much God has blessed me throughout my struggles and battles and how much I have learned about myself through this sport (tear). Anyways, trials didn't end in total sadness for me my sister Meish got third after a tough 2nd round that almost tore my heart up again but they let her and the others back into the final and my sis pulled through... My other homie Hazel also won in "Queen Ig" fashion and two of coaches girls made it "Queen IG" and "Big IG". Also, my homie Dee Dee pulled another one out of the crack of her butt, naw I knew she had it in her and she earned her a spot too despite her battles. So that was my 08' Trials experience, a lot of ups and downs but ended on an up because you never know what blessings God has in store for you tomorrow...

Mikki...

Her name is Micailah Janae Alise Cook, the best thing that has happened to my life. She is 1 and a half years old now and she is such a delight. I really love my baby and I am so glad that I decided to make the sacrifice. She is so smart, and right now she is repeating everything that I say. She loves to eat oatmeal, sugo (Cheerios), spaghetti, corn, chips, and candy. Oh yeah and she loves her apple juice and milky (milk). Oh my God she eats so much, she will eat her food and then come and eat my food, I always joke and call her my "Fat Pig" and of course she repeats me, I guess I should stop before she develops some kind of disorder (anorexia/bulimia), Lol. She also loves to dance and sing. Her favorite songs right now are "Damaged" by Danity Kane, "Sensual Seduction" by Snoop Dogg, and "Yaaahh" by Souljah Boi. I know, I know... I did not teach her these songs but some how she loves them and knows the words, they come on the radio in the car and I swear she just listens and out the blue she starts singing them. She loves to read and learn with her flash cards too. Oh yeah she loves her Dora, of course. So she is very versatile. Here are some more pics of her doing what she does best.

Zoo Experience...

So last week I took Mikki to the Knoxville Zoo for the first time. She had a blast, she was naming the animals and everything. I really wanted to go for myself and taking Mikki was a good reason for me to go. If you are one of those parents that loves animals, this is a great place to take your child. We saw many more animals than this but this is just a preview. We went through the butterfly garden, saw birds, camels, elephants, zebras, meerkats, giraffe, tigers, monkeys (her favorite), lions, lizards, snakes, rhinos, red pandas, ostrich and many more. She did not want to leave and had a fit when she had to get out of her "Zoo Ride." We also rode on the carousel and she was terrified of the fake animals, lol...

One Hour Later...

An hour into the blogging game and I am kinda getting the hang of it, I'll figure more out later as I journey into blogging land... Posted some pics and some words on my page for you all to look at until I really get into the swing of things. Thought I'd leave you all with a funny pic...Until then... Nicole