Blessings, affirmations, grace, and reflection

Important reminders from my Facebook timeline. Help me remember:     Your life will always follow your thoughts. If you're always thinking positive, happy, joyful thoughts, you're going to be a positive, happy, joyful person. And you will attract other happy, positive people.   - Joel Osteen If you find yourself in a negative situation with someone in your life, take a few minutes each day to feel love within your heart for that person, and then send it out into the Universe. Just doing this one thing helps to remove any resentment, anger, or negativity towards that person.   Remember that feeling resentment, anger, or any negative emotion attracts it back to you. Feeling love attracts love back to you. What you are feeling for another, you are bringing to you. From The Secret Daily Teachings by Rhonda Byrne My goal: to be more open. I don't think I shared this on here yet, but the other week I had a co-worker approach me in a totally disrespec...

Today’s (Optional) Writing Prompt: How do you feel about change? Do you like routine and predictability? Does it bring you comfort or discontent? Talk about it general or tell us a specific story about a big change in your life and how you feel about it. I feel like I need a change in my life. When I was younger I was all about change. I was always changing my job, changing my city of residence, changing my hairstyle, changing my boyfriend. Something was always in flux. I finally reached a point in my life where I decided that maybe I needed to settle down. Plant roots. I have been in my apartment for 9 years. When I moved here I never imagined I would live here so long. I have watched my neighbors kids grow up, yet I am close to any of them. I have been on the same job for 3 years. And I have had the same car for 4 years. Yet, that nagging need for change remains embedded inside of me. I keep wanting to move to another state where I can get a "better" job and buy a ...

I have been thinking about improving my social skills. I have noticed that over the years, I don't socialize as well as I used to. Not that I was ever a social butterfly, but now I just have no interest in conversing with strangers and often scramble to make small talk with colleagues to prevent that awkward feeling. It is partially due to the fact that for a number of years I didn't socialize at all. No phone calls, rare visits, no brunches, no extra-curricular meetings, no dates, nothing. I saw this article and thought about how most of us will now pull out our cell phones before getting in the elevator to prevent making small talk with neighbors. The veil of social networking strikes again! I have recently been reading articles about making small talk and networking that will literally change my life. It is really a matter of getting over myself and stepping out there. I always feel so exposed when I say something that falls flat and then that awkward moment of the t...

I haven't been sleeping well primarily because I can't breathe. Today I had a follow up doctor's appointment to check on the TB shot I had. I had the worst sinus headache! I asked what I should about it and the doctor suggested a Nettie Pot and Claritin. I went to the drug store after I left and looked at the Nettie Pot. Decided to price it at another drugstore a block away. Then went to the bank and looked for a place where I could have some hot soup for lunch since I hadn't eaten all day. I decided on a Mexican place for tortilla soup. I couldn't taste it so I'm not sure if I should judge it, but it did manage to get the job done. My sinuses started to drain and the headache pretty disappeared. So much pressure! The coughing is subsiding, but I also bought some nasty cough medicine to help. Decided to take the rest of the week off since I have been working sick for the past 3 weeks. I'm sure it will be frowned upon, but hell, I have to take care of my heal...

I have been casually looking for my next step. My friend forwarded me a posting and I followed up on it. I was sent an offer for a phone conversation. I need to follow up on that. I am really dragging my feet for some reason though I know I need to make a change. I also have to get on top of writing my own letter of recommendation.

I finally found a doctor and was diagnosed with bronchitis and an ear infection. I was given antibiotics (which I am not a fan of) and an inhaler for the wheezing. Since they had me in there (finally) they tried to do everything at once. I have 4 vials of blood drawn, 2 shots (one booster and a TB for work), and a finger prick. My glucose and cholesterol were fine of course, but my blood pressure continues to be borderline hypertensive. I know it is because of the weight, so I am going to stay the course with the juicing and once I feel better start getting exercise in weekly. Everything else is in order. Now I need to make appointments for a mammogram and pap smear. Ugh. Not sure if I am ready for those yet. The truth is that I have been neglecting my body for years and I am just at a point where I am "undoing" the damage. I have stopped everything - the processed foods, dairy, meats, sodas, and alcohol. Now, I guess my motivation is to keep from getting high blood pressur...

So, I have been having a different juice every day. Sometimes I have two juices in a day. It can be an expensive habit (about $5 a cup) but it is worth it to me. Especially since I am not spending that money on food or other drinks. Today's juice was called The Best of Both Worlds. I wasn't really impressed with it and had to force it down and psyche myself out so I wouldn't gag. It was OK as long as I drank it while it was still cold. It had kale and other greens with fruits like mango and it might have had a little ginger. So far my favorite juice has been a green apple and ginger juice. Also, there is one a guy made that had parsley (and I hate parsley) with fruit juices. It was actually good. I am easing my way into the green juices. Tomorrow I probably will not get a juice unless I stop at the juice bar near my apartment on the way home. I think I have hit every juice bar in Harlem at this point. Some are better than others. After I got my juice I headed to get my ...

I looked at the calendar this morning and realized that I am going into my third week of being sick. I am getting better, but I am not used to being sick for so long. Two weeks ago I started to get sick. I worked through it all of the following week and now another week has rolled around and I am still stuffy and congested. My chest congestion is greatly improved, my nasal congestion has just set in and the pollen is ridiculous. I've now lost close to 20 lbs. since I've been sick. This will be great for summer fashions, but man oh man. I have to head to work now. More later.

There is a girl at work who I innocently made a remark to that was not critical in my opinion. As a matter of fact, often when I speak with her it is on the obligatory chit chat level, so it couldn't have been that serious. On two occasions she has retorted, "that sounds like a judgment."  The first time she said it I let is slide and wondered why she said it. I might have even asked her. The next time she said it however, I was confused and upset. I shut down the conversation at that point because that was definitely a conversation killer. I think it is interesting that she would say something like that because she wouldn't say that if I was complimenting her on her eyeshadow or $200 rain boots.  Yet, she took what I said without malice as a judgment. I would have preferred if she had inquired as to my intention rather than make a blanket statement of that sort. It then makes me the "bad person" and I have no idea why she is then judging me as this bad pers...

I have been so busy trying to keep all of the balls in the air. Then I got sick. I haven't been this sick in a while. My allergies turned into an upper respiratory infection and I am still coughing as I try to clear out my bronchial passages. I've also started juicing to help support the recovery and have lost 15 lbs. I haven't had much of an appetite, so I drink fresh juice from the juice bar to keep my energy up. I could definitely keep this up for a while then transition back into a pescaterian diet. Sick and tired of being sick and tired.