Hello 2014!! But you..you stay in 2013.

With a year full of so many ups and a handful of downs it's hard to believe that 2013 is really coming to an end, already! Already!? Sheesh that was fast.
For me the ups of 2013 were way up including running a personal best and securing a spot on my first international US team in the 100 hurdles, traveling the world to run and actually sightsee, having the #2 time in the world this year and starting my crossover appeal campaign! WHEW! But in the same token the downs were way down too. In August I lost my maternal and last living grandmother right before heading to Moscow for World Championships. While I prayed and hoped that the loss could help fuel me to hurdle even faster, in the end I think that my heart was broken and I was just never really able to fully recover before it was time for me to race :'(. I love you Grandma Gloria.

But with all the happenings of my year I wanted to talk about 5 things that are uber popular in 2013 that I really REALLY hope will fizzle and die out with this upcoming year.

5. Recording & Posting Kids Fighting: WorldStar and other media sites have ran rampant with videos of fighting and violence this year, especially of young people (most notably the "Sharkeisha video). While it may be funny to some it is HORRIFYING to me and in general! I mean when people send me a video to look at and it involves fighting I literally am cringing the whole time and cut it off way before it's finished. We have to better and promote more positivity! Now everyone is looking for the next big fight just to be able to yell "WORLD STAR!"

4. Health/Fitness Pushers: Don't get me wrong I LOVE fitness, eating clean and people on the quest to help others achieve their health goals however what I do NOT appreciate is my IG and Twitter being spammed by all these "fitness coaches" trying to get me to buy their product or showing me extremely unrealistic before and after shots where the before person is sad and poking their stomach out and after they're sucking it in to get abs! HA HA Help others but don't just make health and wellness a gimmick, please.

3. Fake Butts: Can we PLEASEEEEE let this DIE! They've been around since 2012 but seemed to come full throttle in 2013. I can appreciate beautifully shaped bodies just like anyone can and everyone loves to have some curves here and there but this is ridiculous! When I see women (or men) with big butts and those skinny legs I can't help but think how weird they look and how they're NOT FOOLING ANYONE!

2. "Hipsters": Being yourself, having progressive views on art, fashion, and politics is GREAT! But once a subculture becomes mainstream honey, you are no longer hip...STERS! lol Between all the thrifting this and vintage that, I just want the real hipsters to please stand up. I understand the bohemian look is cute and I indulge in Urban Outfitters from time to time myself but I'm seriously over everyone acting like they just threw on what they wanted to wear and don't CARE what society thinks. lol NEXT!

and the number 1 fad from 2013 that HAS to stop in 2014 is...

1. TWERKING! OK we get it, now get over it! Twerking in no way started in 2013 but I think it might be about time to let it rest in peace. I remember us trying to learn how to twerk back in middle school and hoping that our parents would never find out. Now it's everywhere including prime time television! Once Miley Cyrus decided to twerk on stage and introduce it to the mainstream (AKA mostly the "non-black" community) I knew that it was officially played out and had to be put away for good, or at least in the archives to sit until generations from now the new "hipsters" will unearth it and recycle it once again! :)

BONUS: Leather jogging pants. They're comfort and fashion all wrapped up in one but now I think they have served their purpose and are officially played out. Thank you Kanye for letting us know they were your idea but no thank you we will no longer be needing them. There are more fabrics in the world, LET'S GOOOO!! lol

Thanks for spending time with me this year reading about my what's goings on! As I always say and truly mean, I appreciate the support and love and look forward to a new year and all new stories and thoughts to post for you all!! :)

Until 2014
*MUAH!

****Disclaimer: Please don't get offended if any of this applies to you or if you don't find it funny or accurate. It was done in good fun and I hope it brought a laugh or smile to your lips!****

It's a photo shoot!

It's hard to believe that every day only consists of 24 hours when give had a day like mine! Today has been soooo long! Great but long.
I have a newfound appreciation for models. Honestly not just models but everyone in the fashion business when it comes to photo shoots because it is a LONG process and very detail oriented. Today I had the pleasure of shooting with a great photographer named Max Luger here in Atlanta, GA who, with the help of Nat Brown on my makeup, Kyaira Brown as my hair stylist, and an assortment of assistants and helpers on set, made me feel comfortable, confident and look oh so glamorous! I must admit that going into it I was pretty nervous because I've never had such an in depth photoshoot with all eyes on me, full glam squad, wardrobe changes, and especially never took non athletic shots, but after some time I started to go with the flow.

When you become a professional athlete, especially in this track world, you kind of get put in a box where you're looked as only an athlete and your only appeal is what you can do on the track. But I've never been content with that, not for me. I have always felt like I wanted more, I needed more, and I could achieve more...and now that I'm finally on that quest to do it I'm really excited for what's to come. I thank God that I finally was able to believe in myself enough to know that I can't wait for the track world or shoe companies to approach ME and say "OK NOW you're good enough to be the face of our brand" or "Now you're good enough to get crossover endorsement deals", I realized that I had to grab life by the horns and shake things up! I think it hit me the hardest that it was time for me to branch out when I went up to NY Fashion Week for my birthday and my boyfriend Will was up there doing PR work and walking red carpets showcasing his Olympic hardware! Now don't get me wrong I LOVED going with him and supporting but he & that helped me realize that we do have more options and that I am worth it to explore them!
Soooo it all started with hiring a publicist who doesn't manage athletes but mostly entertainers because I wanted a new perspective on how to proceed and this new set of eyes that has worked in the entertainment industry for 20 years now. And now the journey begins with this photo shoot I did today. Mannnn it was FABULOUS!
There were so many different looks! Of course I had my athletic look but in a soft, SHAPE magazine cover type of way, but there were always some edgy and sexy looks, over the top glamour and even topped it off with some shots with me in a CROWN. (Befitting for a Queen right?!)
I will admit that I was feeling kind of awkward at the beginning because I am a novice and modeling is all about angles and curves and putting your body and faces in positions that give off the best product (the best shot!). But after a while I just related it back to track and field and realized I do the same thing within my craft! I put my body (less face, but sometimes face when the camera is watching lol!) in sprinting and hurdling positions so that I can get the best product! (a fast race). Once I kind of got that correlation I got a lot less stiff and was able to get some really good shots!
Here's a behind the scenes shot my girl Tresa took while I was mid shot. It's a lot sexier than anything I've done before but I'm proud of myself for trying something new plus they came out HOT! :)

All in all today was definitely tiring but extremely productive and fun! I'm excited to see the finished and edited shots and even more eager to show you all!
As always thank you for taking time out of your day to see how MY day was and until next time...

*MUAH!

Mexican food truck diaries

Today has been action filled! As I type this I am on Hollywood Blvd sitting in front of a Mexican restaurant shaped like a truck about to eat. I just left from famous hair stylist Kim Kimble's salon where she personally made me a hair unit for my upcoming photo shoot! Yes, Kim Kimble (google her if you don't know). Before then I was watching the private premiere screening of the newest BET show 'Being Mary Jane' starting Gabrielle Union surrounding by stars like her, Magic Johnson and a host of others. I'm currently typing this on my phone because time and the day has gotten away from me and I could NOT allow myself to miss a MeTime Monday. No matter how late it is. My next post will be thorough and a lot longer lol. But right NOW I'm about to down this quesadilla, drive home & prepare to leave tomorrow for Orlando, FL where I'll be attending the Bowerman Awards! Fun!

Sorry for the short post but if anything this is an accurate description of my life today, quick & unpredictable LOL.

Until next time...
MUAH!!

Trouble in the Airport

Happy Monday everybody! This past week has been pretty rough, battling with being sick and having the flu has its way of keeping you from doing things you want and wanting to do anything at all. That especially sucks when you have plans like going to the USATF annual meeting out in Indianapolis and presenting an award at the Jesse Owens Awards banquet! :( Yes, sucky. The good thing was that I was asking to help present the award to my coach Lawrence "Boogie" Johnson who was named USA Track & Field's NIKE Coach of the Year! (Go LJ, go LJ, it's your birthday but not really!) Now I'm not a NIKE athlete so I'm just going to refer to him as USATF COACH OF THE YEAR, taking a bit of the name away from the title but not any of the honor that comes with it lol (just kidding). Anyways, I really am proud of him and the fact that I wasn't able to go out there and share the special moment with a man that has been in my life and career for over 7 years now was very disheartening but I know that him and the Johnson family had a great time regardless!

OK Enough about how much Boogie is the man and let me tell you all about my VERY eventful attempted trip to Indianapolis. Like I mentioned, I caught a bug over the Thanksgiving holiday and it beat me up pretty badly but I was determined to go to the annual meeting not only because I made the commitment but also because I really am interested in the change that I know is coming to our sport. I know that sometimes the youngsters on the scene kind of take a back seat and let the veterans deal with all the political stuff but I have grown to love this sport and want to be forefront in helping it grow. ANYWAYS, so I woke up on Wednesday still deciding if I was going to make my 1pm flight out of San Diego and once I talked to my mother and decided yes I'd go I mad dashed for the airport and got there on time. Now the "fun" stuff, after seamlessly going through security I stopped to get some food before I got on my first leg of the trip to Salt Lake City. To say that was an unpleasant flight would be an understatement, I think between having a window seat and the heat and elevation of the plane, it did nothing but make my coughing, stuffy nose, and other symptoms worse.

After a couple winks of restless sleep against the window I awake to the plane descending and my nose noticeably running. I quickly grabbed my spare napkin to catch the nasal drip and to my surprise I am greeted with a runny, bloody nose. Now, I don't know about any of y'all but the sight of my own blood is not my favorite thing to face so I panicked a little bit but luckily not enough to scare the already horrified lady sitting next to me on the flight. So I continue to dab at my nose while the rest of the plane quickly rushed into the terminal. Once I got into the airport off the plane I started feeling worse than when I started and decided that this probably was a sign that I should've stayed at home in bed, nursing myself back to health instead of traveling across country. So I go to the ladies at the Delta desk at my gate (sans bloody napkin) and proceed to explain to them that instead of catching the last leg of my trip to Indianapolis would it be possible to take the next flight back home to San Diego. I told them about being sick and coughing and the bloody nose incident on the flight and automatically the very helpful agent said "Oh my, I can take care of it you go ahead and sit down over there (secluded corner) and I'll send someone over there to help you right away."  Now I kind of assumed that she would be sending another Delta agent to help me with my flying plans while quietly removing my coughing and contagious self from the desk but instead she called the AIRPORT FIREMEN & EMS! OMG! Talk about embarrassed! I'm sitting over there and 4 firemen come over to me (with a wheelchair!) and ask me am I Queen Harrison, am I OK? and proceed to take my vitals and ask me loads of health questions.

Now don't get me wrong I do appreciate the gate agent and especially Delta airlines for being so gracious and changing my flight without putting me through a lot of fuss or change fees, but it definitely didn't take away how embarrassed I was with everyone looking at me like I should be QUARANTINED! haha. OK I'm really dramatic but it all goes to say I really did WANT to be in Indy for the annual meeting but sometimes when nature tells you to sit yo ass down, you listen. haha!

OK Hope you all enjoyed reading this because I know I've been laughing the entire time I'm writing it haha. Until next week!! *MUAH!!

Post Thanksgiving Revelations

Being sick and battling the flu has almost cost me a MeTime Monday, but thankfully as I lay on this couch pale and sickly I miraculously remembered that I had an obligation. *insert weak smile here* So let's get to chatting about the what's happenin'..

Training is going really well, besides these recent setbacks from the flu where I have barely been able to get out the bed, I can really feel my strength increasing! I'm still in the base training phase of pre-season training so that means a lot of strength based lifting, a lot of meters, and a LOT of supplementals like abs, pedestals, etc. It feels like a lot of busy work but I know the importance of it so I just keep on trucking.. :)

Thanksgiving was great! A holiday filled with food, fun, and loads of conversation and controversy, this year didn't disappoint. Every year there is always a major discussion that goes on especially with the ladies in the kitchen cooking and this year was all about women serving men, being submissive, and treating brothers and sons like our husbands. Whew, yeah it was quite a conversation. Let me give a basic outline of the going-ons.

Every year the guys in our family do the same thing during Thanksgiving, NOTHING. At least nothing to contribute towards getting the food or house prepared for the holiday meal (scratch that, they went to get more firewood lol) but as much as some of the women complain about their non-contribution, I honestly think that it's better to have them all stay out of our way and just continue to play video games and pool downstairs out of our hair, until its time to eat.

So the day after Thanksgiving when we're all looking to eat leftovers and plan the after Thanksgiving activities, the women were once again in the kitchen finding ways to stretch the leftover food so that everyone could get some. Once we decided to make turkey salad wraps (like chicken salad just with turkey) and made them my cousin Melody suggested we go serve them to the men downstairs. This struck a cord with my big sister Graceful which turned into a discussion of why can't they come upstairs and make their own plates. Seeing as though all us ladies just salvaged the food and turned it into something a little less "Thanksgiving leftovers", she felt that the least the guys could do was come upstairs and get their own food instead of us bringing it downstairs to them. The end result: Some of the women brought the food downstairs for the men lol.

Back when I was younger I used to think it was ludicrous to have to serve the men but as I've gotten older it actually doesn't bother me as much. I am starting to come to realize that men NEED us (yes, you all need us lol) and for holidays and special occasions it's OK to cook and bring them the food and just allow them to do nothing but enjoy each other's company, because we love them. After all the discussions died down and the men finally came upstairs we proposed that the men do the cooking for the next Thanksgiving and the women swap with them, doing all the "stuff" they do instead of helping out with the food. (I'm still not 100% sure of what all that is lol but I'm eager to learn). Of course all the men CLAIMED that they could do it, but it was quickly finished with "Why? Y'all already do such a great job at it!" LOL Men.

Needless to say I'm sure that will never happen and that our Thanksgiving tradition will stay the same for years to come but if the guys do decide to surprise us, I'll be more than open to the changes lol.

Well, I'm exciting for some new changes coming into form for me and can't wait until they're finalized to discuss them in my blog with you all! Like always, thank you so much for reading and until next time!!
*MUAH!


PS. Thanksgiving with the boo included was a hit! He successfully integrated into the "doing nothing" crew downstairs and even managed to dunk and earn some respect on the basketball court from my brothers (which is NOT easy) Two snaps for William :)