Oh Nuts

  I don't know who needs to hear this, but you are not broken. There is nothing wrong with you. Unfortunately, there is a lot wrong in the world, and it's normal to recognize those things. Often times we feel broken, or something is wrong with us because of something that happens to us. And it can affect us down the road as we move through life. Because of this, we have a hard time asking others for help. Through our life experiences, we often think that we need to do something alone and that no one will want to help us. But don't be afraid to ask for help. Because we don't have it all together like we might think we do. While it might be easier for some people, we all need to learn that having help is okay. There is nothing wrong with needing or asking for help. When saying things like "it takes a village," some people don't have a village. Because of that, they have to figure it out on their own. And that can be hard to do, feeding into feeling like they...

  More often than not, I feel like many phrases have been ingrained in our society for a long time. A good example is a common phrase, "Boys will be boys." But what is that even supposed to mean?  Photo by Ben Sweet on Unsplash Quite often, the phrase is used to explain the behavior of men and boys when they do something that other people disagree with. Unfortunately, it has been like that for a long time, and it doesn't seem like much has changed, especially when you look at current politics, sexual harassment, etc. I don't know what others think about the phrase. Still, I believe that it needs to leave our vocabulary and that people need to work on themselves and how they respond and react to different topics where that phrase is used.  A current example of how the phrase "Boys will be boys" could be used is the recent Johnny Depp/Amber Heard Trial. While I didn't follow any of the hearings, it shows how the phrase could be used to throw the blame on ...

  What if today we were just grateful for mornings. Photo by Sharon Pittaway on Unsplash  and edited by me What if today we were just grateful for nights. What if today we were just grateful for the food on the table.  What if today we were just grateful for a bike to ride. What if today were just grateful for a game to play. What if today we were just grateful for the friends we make. What if we were just grateful for a roof over our heads. What if today we were just grateful for our family. What if today we were just grateful for another day to be alive. What if today we were just grateful for everything.

  Now, this is partially a lesson on why you must write things down as soon as you hear them and remember them. Because that is what happened to me the other day :P Photo by Oliver Hale on Unsplash So how does that pertain to motivation? Well, let me tell you. Several weeks ago I started going to therapy and in one of my most recent sessions, the topic of motivation was brought up during our conversation. Now about the word motivation, my therapist said something along the lines of "Motivation is a choice." While I don't remember the exact wording that was used I really liked what she said and in my head, I was like I should write this down so I don't forget it. But I didn't write it down and I, naturally, forgot what the exact wording was. There was another thing that she said as well that I really like and that was also not written down and therefore forgotten. Because that is just how my brain works right now.  But she isn't wrong, because motivation is a ...

  Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash When it comes to life and things in general it can feel a little crazy, or nuts at times. Am I right? Well, the other day, I can't remember if it was at work or at home, someone used the phrase "Oh nuts" about something that had just happened. And it stuck in my head for some reason and I also thought about my blog here, which ended up in a bit of a hole last year with barely any writing. And after a little bit of thinking, I decided that my little hole here on the blogosphere needed a bit of an update since it has been a while since I did an update around here.  Of course, an update here means changing the background color, font style, and name. I know for a while the name was the same, but after a while, it started to not feel like me really anymore. Though for a while I couldn't think of anything else that fit me and worked as a new name for here. That is until whoever it was said "oh nuts," the other day. And f...

This is a post that I started back in 2020 during the "height" of the coronavirus and then sort of forgot about and let fall to the side. Especially since I have only put out one post in 2021, compared to all of the ones that I had put out during 2020. When I started working on the idea for this post, while I don't remember where I came up with or found the topic, I asked people a simple question about what made them vulnerable or how they showed/felt discomfort. While I didn't get that many answers for either question, the ones that I did receive were good responses to what I had asked.  The photo was taken by me My original title for this post was "Seek Discomfort and Vulnerability," but sometimes I think those things find us instead. And I believe that was part of my thought process behind asking the questions and then this post. When we are faced with discomfort and vulnerability, either together or separately, we have to face them, and sometimes it fee...

Clapping is literally just slapping yourself because you like something?

Even though I wrote a post on this topic last year, and probably one or two other times, I wanted to share the word of the year as well as the saint of the year that I received for 2020. Found on Google and the parish website for St. Hyacinth Catholic Church in TX. The saint that I received for this year is St. Hyacinth, who I have heard of, but didn't really know much about. Thanks to the internet and a quick Google search I was able to look St. Hyacinth up and learn more about him. And what I have learned is that St. Hyacinth is the patron saint against drowning and Poland. His feast day is August 17th. Jennifer Fulwiler, the creator of both generators, shared the links on her Facebook page (and I think on Instagram/Twitter but I am not sure). When she shared the link and a picture of the first page for the Saint generator she added this clarification to the caption in the post. (To clear you some confusion, this generator gives you the name of people canonized in ...

Every great once in a while a fun name/book title generator will show up on my Facebook feed from one of the writing groups I am in. Sometimes the names that I get from these aren't the greatest. But I actually liked the name that I got from this Fantasy book title generator and it is something that I would want to read if it was a real book. My generated Fantasy Book Title is "War of Evil Destiny." Not mine. I found it on Facebook.

Normally when I share anything that I have written in one of my stories, I usually try to keep it as current. But this is something that I o riginally wrote back at the beginning of March 2012. And it is from the Fairy Tale Novels Fan Forum that I was a part of for a long time and I only found this again because I decided to log on again and poke around. Title: All The World's A Zoo Characters: Freddy and Caleb the Unicorns, Edgar the llama, Frank the Alligator, Phillip the Frog, Jane the Tiger and Ned the Labrador Synopsis: After the arrival of Jane and Phillip, some of the animals at Cair Paravel are feeling a bit left out and soon things start getting a bit out of hand with the animals and only they can fix it *not long after Jane and Phillip show up* Frank: I don't think how a frog and I tiger are special they aren't fun to be with anyhow Caleb:*does a horsey sigh* I wish Sulwen would stop forgetting about me Freddy:*snorts* ...

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction...Will create the biggest change in your life! Photo by  Jon Tyson  on  Unsplash Everyone is afraid at some point in their lives to take the first small step in the right direction towards something great. For each person, that direction will be different, but we will all get there. Whether it is in the way that we expected it too. Or in a way that is completely different than what we had expected it too. But the moment we take the first small step it will create the biggest change in our lives. What that change is no one knows. Although the first step and the first change go hand in hand we can't see the future, though we are always trying to change the direction that we are going in. Even if we do change direction and go in the wrong direction that first step will take us to something that will change us for better or worse. Sometimes people plan on setting out to do great things in their lives, but then they e...

Nowadays it seems like everyone is trying to be the same. But that can't work well. Because you were born original, don't die the photocopy.  Photo by  RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist  on  Unsplash Being the elephant in the room isn't always a bad thing, being the elephant in the room show you're not afraid to be different. And we can all be the elephant in the room because we are all different and original. If we are a photocopy than we aren't being our true selves. As an original, we are all part of a greater puzzle that works better together when we are being ourselves. Because a photocopy doesn't work the same if we are placing it in a puzzle.  "In a way, you've already won in this world. Because you're the only one who can be you." - Mr. Rodgers. What Mr. Rodgers says in the above quote is true. We have already won in this world as ourselves and by being original. If we aren't being original than we haven't won and w...

It's ok if you fall apart sometimes. Tacos fall apart and we still love them. Which is true because tacos are delicious and fall apart a lot.   Photo by  Krisztian Tabori  on  Unsplash In today's world, everyone is often led to believe that they have to be perfect. And depending on what they are focusing on, their focus on perfection will change. For some people, they are focusing on having the perfect body. While other people focus on having the perfect house. But we don't need to worry about being perfect. Another thing that people tend to focus on is making their problems disappear. And these problems stick around and are always with us. But there are things that we can do to change the problems that we have. Of course, how everyone goes about changing them depends on the person because we are all different and no one is the same. So what works for one person might not work for someone else. While it is an entirely different topic altogether the ...

Now you are probably scratching your heads and wondering what I mean by that very random title that I used for this post. Well, if you have seen some of my posts, then you know that I have participated in what is called National Novel Writing Month , or NaNoWriMo for short, for a while in November. Since July 2011, the same people who put on NaNoWriMo during November started what is called Camp NaNoWriMo . The first two years that they did Camp NaNo they had them back to back in July and August of 2011 and 2012. Now they do it in April and July so that people can participate in both if they want while still having time to plan everything. Since Camp NaNo started I have been participating on and off since April 2013 and hadn't ever won any of them. Now back in November, I mentioned that I won the regular NaNoWriMo and I am happy to announce that I have won the July 2019 Camp NaNo. While the story that I have been working on for the past month isn't finished yet, and I migh...

Lately, I have been a bit quiet on the blogging front for this blog. But that is partly because I am having a hard time finding something to write about. While that isn't all true I do have two blog posts that I started working on, but haven't finished yet because I got stuck with where to go next. On the blog have for " The Knit Potato " I put up two blog posts this week. So you are more than welcome to pop over and read them. I also plan on having another post or two up there soon. Photo by  amandaziphotography  on  Unsplash When I come in here to either write a blog post or poke around I always go to the Reading List page to see what the bloggers that I follow have written. Which is what I did before I started writing this post. So when I went in there the post at the top was written by an acquaintance of mine named Grace. The title of her post is called " A Summer Funk ," which is kind of what I am feeling at the moment. While I post a variety of ...

I know that this is a bit of a cliche topic but it has been on my mind a bit lately. But this has been popping up in my head a lot lately. I think it is partially because we often miss out on the little things in life. An example of this that I recently had was the other weekend at a friends wedding. In the front inside flap of the program that they had for the ceremony the bride and groom had a little note asking that their guest become unplugged so that they could participate in the ceremony. With the exception of one or two people at the very end, all of the guests respected the wishes of the bride and groom and kept their phones away and participated in the ceremony. Photo by  BRUNO CERVERA  on  Unsplash While that is just one example of staying off of our phones, iPads, etc. I know that there are plenty more little things and moments that we can enjoy without having to capture it in a picture. To me little moments means spending time with my family. Whether ...

While I have been a bit silent lately, I have not forgotten this small corner of the world. Several weeks ago I did start working on a blog post, but it is still far from finished. But I will hopefully have it written and posted soon. In the meantime, I thought I would pop in share a little bit of what my life has been like lately. Photo by  Tai's Captures  on  Unsplash To start off the Friday before Memorial day I went and got my hair cut. While that isn't anything out of the ordinary but it does showcase the curliness of my hair. My hair has always had a bit of a wave/curl to it but I never did anything with it until I got my hair cut. Shortly before I went and got it cut my sister had started looking into natural shampoos and other natural hair products to use. And that is part of what got me started with wanting to cut my hair. Because I wanted to start trying stuff on shorter hair rather than longer hair. The shampoo and conditioner that I recently started usi...

A year ago today I graduated with my associate's degree as an Administrative Assistant. It doesn't feel like it has been a year yet but it has and a lot has happened. Besides graduating last year there was a lot of other things that happened. Some of which happened even before I graduated. Taken by a family member While I don't have to start last year all the way back in January in last year I am going to since it just makes things a little easier to go in chronological order. So in January, we celebrated my grandma's 80th birthday and my sister Teresa flew in the day before to surprise her since my sister had just left to start her last spring semester of college. My mom and the rest of my sisters were at a friend's baby shower the day before. I also started a babysitting job once a week on Tuesdays. Not a whole lot happened in February, which is an okay thing some times. But my other grandparents did move into their new house. In March we had a bridal showe...

I am not a Star Wars fan, but that seemed like an appropriate title for today. I have been trying to settle on a topic to write about here but keep getting stuck. Technically I had an idea for a post but I didn't get very far with it. And ironically enough it was going to be a post using the question "What Helps You To Be Creative?" as the prompt/title. So instead I shared the question to my Facebook page to see what people's responses are and I may do another post where I share their responses as well as how I get creative. Photo by  Simon Zhu  on  Unsplash While the picture (<----) is very cool I found it a little funny that on Upsplash, where I get pictures that aren't my own, the picture is titled "Man With Neon Lights Stands In Between 2 Bridges." It doesn't seem as dramatic when you pair it with a title like that. But that is beside the point. Earlier this week or late last week I did a poll on my personal Instagram stories about whet...

As of right now, we are three weeks into the new year and in that time I have ended one job and started another. The nice think about ending and starting two jobs is that I had a week in between ending my job at Kohl's and then starting my new job and during the in-between week I just had the nanny job that I do. Of course, I had to get sick with the stomach flu in between jobs which wasn't that fun, especially since I got the rest of the family sick. Enough about being sick and work and on to other more pleasant sounding topics of conversation. Washington D.C., May 12, 2018 For Christmas, I received a book called Writing Your Novel From Start To Finish: A Guidebook For the Journey by Joseph Bates. And I started reading it the other night and in the second chapter there were two sentences that jumped out at me. While the author is specifically talking about character development I believe that the two sentences still apply to real life as well as the page. "Our h...