Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Self Evolution

Good Morning fellow bloggers & readers,

It has been a little over 2 months since I have blogged & although writing is my true passion, & I've been told it's my gift: I have to follow my heart & share my passion & gift with you.

So, let me just inform you that this past holiday season was one of the hardest & emotionally charged seasons I had endured! I was borderline depressed, I was hurting, I was re-evaluating my life's situation, I was crying for change! It took every atom in my body & mind to overcome these feelings, but, I managed to pull myself out of my funk & paint my town house, redecorate, fill my home with positive mantras & learned how to meditate deeply & take matters into my own hands. I have learned that I am the only one that knows what makes me happy. I use to think I had to be with somebody in order to be happy, but now looking back, it has been me that has been making myself happy! I now know that only I can keep myself happy! I also have learned to let go of negative people & negative situations, & that was hard for me to do, because I had become comfortable with those people & those situations.
I always thought that I was flexible & I could adapt to any change life had thrown my way, but my flaws always took me down a negative path! It wasn't until somebody disrespected me unnecessarily that I had my epiphany. & I know everything happens for a reason & this needed to happen to me in order for me to make changes in my life. I want to thank God for giving me signs & allowing me to make mistakes without them permanently damaging me emotionally or otherwise. I also want to take a minute to thank my loved ones for being patient with me & always being here for me & telling me my worth & believing that I would eventually make the right decision & move away from my negativity.
I could tell you all my flaws & negativity, but that's a whole new blog!

Anyway, let me share with you the secret to my arsenal. I began my transformation by exercising more,  practicing deep meditation, spending more time with my children (including my dog), and being around  people who appreciate me for who I am, my true friends. Every morning/ night I start by thanking God for what I have (home, car, jobs, & the ability to hold my own & then some, by myself), I then proceeded to mentally remind myself that producing positive karma will bring me positive karma. Being nice & smiling generally makes other people around you more comfortable & eventually nicer. I always have a tendency of being silly & sometimes inappropriate, but usually it's with people that I consider my friends/family, & they seem to appreciate that about me. I have started to keep my distance from negative people & situations, I began by closing doors to negative situations & stopped entertaining negative people! I am a giving person, but I've learned to stop giving to people who are not worthy of my gifts (energy, time or thought). Talking myself out of negative situations has been instrumental, I practice that frequently.

Reinventing myself professionally & socially has proven to be successful. I've learned that working on your inner beauty has a way of making you physically beautiful. & bad situations are meant to teach you valuable life lessons & for every negative situation I've endured, I found a positive lesson I learned. How I approach situations has defined my character, forgive, be grateful & graceful. Love yourself before you allow yourself to love someone else, know yourself worth & how you expect to be treated & never settle for less! (the last sentence is for my children & some of my sistas that are going through some shit!) Being patient with myself has been challenging, but it has also taught me patience & forgiveness. I have done somethings I'm not proud of & tried to make excuses for my behavior, but I now know that I had to go through it in order to overcome it! Needless to say, I've learned some very valuable lessons.

So now @ almost 43 years old, I am finally comfortable in my own skin & am ready to tackle my success, professionally & socially.

P.S. Thank you so much for following & allowing me to share myself with you.

Some fond memories from 2013
Mira, Shami & me enjoying an Indian buffet
 my cousin Robert & me enjoying a nature walk & a very deep conversation
 Denise & me on our way to Miami
 Me feeling fabulous on our cruise
 Shami, Jared & me being silly @ a 3D movie
 Lexie, Sharon, Lillibeth, Denise & me @ CSICU holiday party
 Robert & me enjoying NYC holiday scenery
 Dasha, Sade, Denise & me @ my NYE dinner
 Me about to hit the town & paint it red
 Frannie's last day as a bedside RN
 my lil mami & me- miss her immensely
 Denise & me @ a hip hop concert @ RCMH
 Denise, Rob & me enjoying some of Little Italy's finest
 Sasha, Sade, Shamorr & Shadasha, missing Shuan tremendously
 Me doing what I do best: working!
Quotes for this morning include, but are not limited to:




my legacy:

Celebrating 105 entries on my blog: you go girl, keep going until the wheels fall off, then run!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Time well spent!

Good afternoon bloggers,

I am back to my grind, working multiple shifts a week! I know, I promised my mom to not work so hard, & I haven't for 4 months I took it easy, working per diem @ SBMC & part time @ HUMC. I got a chance to travel to VA, FL, & Bahamas, I also was given the opportunity to get closer to my daughter, Sade & son, Shamorr.  I have even developed a real relationship with my father, I visit him twice a week & we actually have discussions.
My family &  friends seem to think that I appear more relaxed & @ peace with my life situation, & I am. But, because I live in such expensive area, I have to go back to my grind. So it begins, been working since last Thursday & only had 1 day off. I'm not complaining, I feel very blessed to be able to work the way I do. I know allot of people that are struggling to maintain 1 job! & here I am with the blessing of 2 jobs. Having those 2 jobs allowed me to afford those vacations & allowed me to spend some much needed time with those I love & love me. & although I didn't get a chance to spend time with a particular someone, but we have the future for that.
I have to say I have some pretty awesome people in my life & they have been very supportive of me & for that I am eternally grateful & loyal!
enjoy these pics of the people who matter to me:

My oldest daughter, Sade
 My baby son, Shamorr
 My middle daughter, Sasha
 My older son, Shuan
My youngest daughter, Shadasha
 My 2 sisters from other mothers: Denise & Joanna

 My partner in crime for 28 years! Denise
My half sister, Lygia


My Honduran sister, Joanna

So you see, these are my loved ones who matter to me! 

Monday, November 18, 2013

Hope

Good morning bloggers,
I was stranded in Detroit on an extended layover coming back home. Needless to say, I had time to read, write & reflect on my current experiences. Please enjoy this entry! muah

Hope
So, here it is, I'm on the beautiful island of Freeport, Bahamas, & instead of enjoying the sunny breeze, I'm reading & writing! My mind is always moving, it's like if it stops, it will die. I've always said I'm a true psychoanalyst. I'm currently reading the 5 Languages of Love by Chapman; a selection suggested by my little brother Mario. He tells me, "Twig, my nickname growing up) you've always been a strong human being, but you really need a companion who compliments all your strengths", (& they're many) so he suggested I read this book. So, being who I am, I read it in the first 2 days of the cruise. I learned that my love language consist of 3, that's right, I'm tri- lingual! Did you expect anything less? Well, I didn't, like I said my brain is always going!
But enough about my new knowledge, let's move on to the title of my entry, which is hope. I belong to a very loving family, & I had forgotten my roots. We did not have allot of materialistic things growing up, but we had each other. The reason I mention that, is because the fact that I have been hanging around my male cousin, Robert & my little pseudo brother Mario, has reminded me of my humble beginnings. Being around them & their significant others has proven to me that there are good men on this earth. These 2 beautiful men love unconditionally, & they aren't afraid to express their love towards their women.
I think God wanted me to witness this in order to give me hope. I had lost all faith in men, but when I'm around my cousin & brother they remind me that good men do exist.
I now have a new found feeling, one of hope when it comes to men. I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge those good men, who are in it for the long run, no matter what! Those who know that relationships are always a work in progress, and the best investment these couples have is each other!
So here is to Robert, Mario, Eric, Kirby, Pop (Duncan), Robbie,
Gilbert, Charles, Harry, Tarik, Jhonn.........the list is quite long, all these men have touched my life in some way or form & have proven to me that there are good men period!

If I forgot to mention your name, please forgive me ;-(


my beautiful cousin, Robert Escamilla


Mario & Shennette taking their vows
 Finally! Man & wife
 The beautiful bride: Shennette, my new sis-in-law
 Had to show off my Greek hairstyle & only tattoo: SLW to the 5th power
 Denise & me ready for the wedding
 Julie & me ready for the wedding
 The groom: my so handsome lil brother, Mario
 My brother, Mario & his daughter Bella, getting ready for the day
 being silly!
 Finally on the ship!
 Leaving Miami, FLA
 My morning power walks
 Our ship: Norwegian Sky
 Welcome to one of the many Bahamian islands
 I feel so blessed!
 Denise & me's selfie
 Me! 15 pounds to go, but my cuts are coming through!
 Julie & me
 @ the beach having a drink
 Denise's selfie
 Dress up night on the ship
 Atlantis, Bahamas
 Denise & me
 Shopping time
 Beach time
 Me on Captain's night dinner
 Freeport, Bahamas
 Mario & Shennette- the newly weds
 Me @ comedy show
 the last dinner I cooked for my brother & new sister-in-law