I'm taking a different approach to Monday today.  Instead of compiling my usual list of ten things I love/appreciate/am proud of about my body, I have looked back on all the lists I've made in the last two months and have compiled here my definitive body love list as it stands on this propitious day.

1. I have strong legs that can walk for miles and take me wherever I need to go, be it seven miles or twenty.
2. I have strong arms that can do 100 pushups (in nine minutes), lift heavy when working out, and can carry a 35-pound bucket of cat litter up two flights of stairs.
3. I have sexy hips that way when I dance (and walk), being the Zumba Mami I am.
4. I have agile fingers that can play beautiful music on the piano (I can span a 10th, you know), recorder, ukulele, and djembe.
5. I have beautiful hazel eyes, framed by fabulous glasses, which look particularly nice when I'm wearing purple.  A friend called them "cat's eyes" recently, which I thought was pretty awesome.
6. I have a coordinated body that can dance a sultry salsa......or Gahu...or be a penguin, and can also bust out some decent punch combos on the heavy bag.
7. I have adorable summer freckles that keep me looking young.
8. I have womanly hourglass curves that are feminine and shapely.
9. I have an expressive face that can be clownish or stern (and anything in between, including a frog face) and never fails to get my point across.
10. I have calves of steel.  They're strong, and they look damn fine during shorts season.
11. I have a huge smile that takes up half my face when I want it to.  It's uniquely mine...and my sister's.  It can invite a hello from a stranger or express a thank you to those who need one.
12. I have lovely (and cooperative) hair that is beautiful both curly and straight.
13. I have a prominent (currently sun-kissed and freckled) nose that was the bane of my existence as a middle-schooler but which has become one of my favorite features as an adult.
14. I have resilient muscles and joints that can wake up feeling refreshed and pain-free in the morning after walking twenty (freaking) miles.
15. I have determined feed that can continue walking for miles even when they are blistered and tired.
16. I have an equally determined brain that helped tell those feet to keep walking.
17. I have healthy lungs that breathed fully and without difficulty throughout a 20-mile walk (and are still holding their own during allergy season, too).
18. I have a strong back that is able to withstand even the most fully-loaded fanny pack on a long journey.
19. I have grateful hands that were able to shake, high-five and wave to over fifty police officers to express my gratitude for their service.
20. I have long, lovely eyelashes (with pretty purple mascara on them).
21. I have a raucous, indelicate laugh (one might even call it a guffaw).
22. I have a strong, resilient heart (both in the physical/medical sense and in the metaphorical sense--both of which are important).
23. I am powerful, strong, and determined.  And I AM BEAUTIFUL.

TWENTY-THREE.  My first shot at this I struggled for a good long time to get to ten.  And now I know for sure that there are 23 things that I love about myself.


And once more I encourage you to jump on the Body Love Monday bandwagon.  It's a really pleasant ride.

Don't even lie, you know you're singing it in your head RIGHT NOW.

And now that I've completely creeped myself out with a picture of Barney on my blog, I'm going to go ahead and commence with Body Love Monday.  Yaaaaaaaaaay!

It's a big day for puppet references here at the JE Project, apparently.

Okay people.  Let's do this.

1. I have nimble, ukulele-strumming fingers (which were put to great use today).
2. I have long, lovely eyelashes (with pretty purple--yes, purple--mascara on them).
3. I have a cute, freckled nose (currently adorned with a new star nose stud).
4. I have raucous, indelicate laugh (one might even call it a guffaw).
5. I have strong, powerful legs (good for frog-jumping and duck-walking).
6. I have mighty, record-breaking arms (which accomplished the most push-ups they've ever done a few days ago).
7. I have hale, healthy lungs (which have been breathing medication-free for over a week now).
8. I have a big, bright smile (just like my sister--I think it's what makes us look like sisters).
9. I have curvy, luscious hips (and I love to shake 'em).
10. I have a strong, resilient heart (both in the physical/medical sense and in the metaphorical sense--both of which are important).

Don't forget to take some time today to appreciate YOU.  Because YOU are an awesome person!

I took yesterday off of work and was therefore in Sunday mode all day and completely forgot to write my Monday body love list!  Apologies.

And why did I take yesterday off, you ask?  Because I walked TWENTY freaking miles on Sunday.  Yeah, buddy!

I think I shall challenge myself to make today's body love list all related to my walk (details of which will be coming in a post sometime later on this week).

1. I have strong legs that can walk 20 (freaking) miles.
2. I have resilient muscles and joints that can wake up feeling refreshed and pain-free the morning after walking 20 (freaking) miles.
3. I have a bright smile that can invite a hello from a stranger or express a thank you to those who need one.
4. I have a sun-kissed nose covered with freckles thanks to 7 hours out in the sunshine.
5. I have determined feet that can continue walking for miles even when they are blistered and tired.
6. I have an equally determined brain that helped tell those feet to keep walking.
7. I have healthy lungs that breathed fully and without difficulty throughout my long walk.  (This might not seem like a great feat to some, but with asthma and having had pneumonia this past winter, this is something I'm feeling REALLY good about.)
8. I have a strong back that is able to withstand even the most fully-loaded fanny pack on a long journey.
9. I have grateful hands that were able to shake, high-five, and wave to over 50 police officers to express my gratitude for their service.
10. I am powerful, strong, determined.

And a couple of bonus things that are awesome:
A. I have fantastic family and friends who supported my walk and my fundraising efforts.
B. I have a truly amazing mother who supported me all day long and was kind enough to roll out my calves with a rolling pin on Sunday evening.  That is LOVE right there, folks.

Probably not, since I've only done it once before here on my blog...but it's Body Love Monday!  Time for me to tell you 10 things that I love/appreciate/am proud of about my body.  And I encourage you to do the same!  (About your own body, not mine.  Though I do love compliments.)

The rules are as follows:  TEN things, no qualifications (no ifs, no buts, no coconuts), and I cannot look back at previous lists.  That way I'm truly thinking about what I appreciate right now and also may discover new things that I hadn't thought of before.  (With the lists that I have done so far, I'm actually already up to 15 things.)

1. I have pretty eyes.  A friend called them "cat's eyes" today, which I thought was pretty awesome.
2. I have a coordinated body that can not only dance well, but can also bust out some decent punch combos on the heavy bag.
3. I have a smile that is uniquely mine...and my sister's.
4. I have strong arms that can lift heavy at the gym, and lift a 35-pound bucket of cat litter up two flights of stairs.
5. I have curvy hips that I can sway like the Zumba Mami I am.
6. I have muscular calves that look mighty fine during shorts season.
7. I have a prominent nose that was the bane of my existance as a middle-schooler but which has become one of my favorite features as an adult.
8. I have strong legs that can take me wherever I need or want to go.
9. I have expressive face which can go from stern look to frog face in the blink of an eye (or the cross of two eyes).
10. I have long and agile fingers, highly suited for piano--I can span a 10th, you know.

I'm pretty sure the nose is a new one, so I'm up to at least 16 things now that I know I love about my body.

Cool.

What do you love about your body?

That big revelation that I had last week that started with me making a list of ten things I love/appreciate/am proud of about my body?

I have decided that I'm going to make that same(ish) list every Monday, but I will not be looking back at the previous week's list to do so.  I will have to generate a new list every week.  I am sure that some (most?) things will repeat from week to week, but I am hoping that not everything will.  Because if eight things stay the same this week and two are different, then combining with last week's list, I will have twelve things that I love/appreciate/am proud of about my body.

And that's kind of cool.

So, in no particular order...

1. I have strong legs that carried me for a seven-mile walk this weekend...and even felt like they could have gone further.
2. I have calves of steel.  They're strong, and they look damn fine.
3. I have a coordinated body that can dance  a mean salsa...or Gahu...or penguin dance.
4. I have beautiful hazel eyes, which look particularly nice when I'm in purple.  (How convenient, too, since it's one of my favorite colors!)
5. I have strong arms that can do 100 pushups (in nine minutes).
6. I have cute freckles that keep me looking young (and are coming out more and more with the outdoor walks and sunshine).
7. I have a huge smile that takes up half of my face when I want it to.
8. I have agile fingers that are adept at playing a number of musical instruments from recorder to piano, ukulele to djembe.
9. I have an expressive face that never fails to get my point across.
10. I have lovely (and cooperative) hair that is beautiful both curly and straight.

What do you love and appreciate about your body?  What things about your body make you proud?  Feel free to share in the comments!