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.

No, seriously.  No silliness in this week's Theme Song Thursday.  Instead, a reminder that many (dare I say, most) of us could use on a regular basis.

* Being an official VEVO video, you will need to click the link to go to the actual YouTube page.  And you should.  You really, really should.

I came across this quote this weekend and have managed to apply it to several situations in just the past few days.

Or, as Kenny Rogers said, "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em."

It's kind of a creepy little video.  You all should watch it.

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!

Many thanks to Taylor at Freak Out in Color for bringing this to my attention.  I had to watch it twice because I laughed so hard the first time that I missed half the video.

You're welcome.

...and I would walk 20 more...

I'll give you a moment to finish that out in your head.

Did you get to the da-da-la-das yet?  Okay then.  Moving on.

So.  Why walk 20 miles?  A child asked me that very question, which forced me to articulate the reason why in such a way that a young person would understand it.  This is what I said (as best I can remember):

I am fortunate enough to be able to buy myself nutritious food that would give my body the fuel it needs to do something like walk 20 miles, but there are people out there who are not so lucky.  I walk to raise money--thanks to family and friends who sponsor me--for those people so that they can have access to nutritious food, too.

I have been blessed in my life to never have gone hungry, but I know what it looks like and I want to do my part to help stop it.  If part of that is taking most of a day to do nothing but walk, I'm all for it.

The walk itself took me almost exactly 7 hours from start to finish, which included a lunch break and a couple stops to change socks and/or put on bandaids.  There were many ups and downs along the way.  The first 5 miles were a piece of cake.  I'd even go so far as to include the next 2.5 miles in the cake category, though I did get my first blister between 5 and 7.5.  Mile 7.5 was the first bandaid stop and I caught the blister pretty early, so it was all good.

The next 3 miles went by pretty uneventfully...though that might have been when I had to pull out my iPod because a rather obnoxious (albeit enthusiastic) group of teens started singing "99 bottles of milk on the wall."  Don't get my wrong, I think it's fantastic for kids to get involved in community service...but that doesn't mean that they don't still lack a general awareness of the people in their immediate vicinity.

The first sign for the snack stop appeared around 10.5 miles.  Said snack stop was at mile 12.  Oh the irony of teasing people who are walking to help feed those in need with 1.5 miles of signs about food.  The nice thing about the snack stop being at mile 12 (rather than mile 10, which is where it was the first time I did this walk) is that there are only 8 miles left to go after lunch.  (A thought that then makes one wonder about the context in which walking 8 miles is preceded with the word "only.")

I kind of zoned out for the next several miles, listening to Eddie Izzard's "Glorious" on my iPod and no doubt looking like a grinning idiot as I did so.  (Evil ducks.  It's a funny concept.)

The last 2 miles were a total slog.  There was no sudden burst of energy at the thought of nearing the finish line.  The closest I came was Tiny Tim singing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" in my head while I walked through the Public Garden.  But I trudged on and crossed the finish line, where my mom met me with a hug.

My fundraising goal for this walk was to be a "Heart & Sole" walker--to raise $500.  I raised that and more.  In fact, when you add it all up, I raised nearly $100 for hunger programs for every hour that I walked.  Next year I might just even set my sights a little higher.

...but I'm feeling 32.  For a couple more weeks, anyway.

The relatability of this song is both hilarious and a little sad.  But mostly hilarious.

A few items of note:
~ I can, in fact, climb a staircase without difficulty.
~ My doctor prescribes me mindfulness meditation...which also pairs well with wine.
~ I did NOT like 50 Shades.
~ The cat thing is old news.  I've had at least one cat since I was 23.

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.

You know what's awesome?

FORTY-ONE children dancing their little butts off at 7:45 in the morning, laughing and smiling and having a great time...and getting some exercise while they're at it.

And next week I might even have a couple more.

That's it though.  I'm putting at cap at 50 kids, tops.  No more additions after next week!  I hate to deny any kid the experience because it really is a blast, but 50 kids with one teacher is plenty.

The time went by super fast.  We really only had time for a warm-up, about 3/4 of a routine, a game, and a cool-down.  Next week we'll finish up the routine and play a different game.

And, on top of that, it's Theme Song Thursday!

Today's theme song is incredibly inane...but it made for a great Zumbatomic warm-up this morning.  So LET'S GO!

...for followers on social media, that is.  The JE Project is on both Twitter and Facebook.  You can find me by clicking on those links you just read, or with those nifty little buttons in the upper right corner.

I've made it so

You know you want to.

All the cool kids are doing it.

In other news, Zumbatomic starts tomorrow!  Be on the lookout for a follow-up post tomorrow to find out how it goes!  How it went?  How it will have gone?  I'm having some tense issues.

The point is:  Come back and read again tomorrow.