Tag: dreams

A Thankful Nod in November

A Thankful nod in November 2018

As a grown up (on paper anyways, as I pride myself on the youthful glow I inherited from my parents) it seems that celebrating holidays takes a lot more effort than it used to. A part of that effort comes from adult responsibilities like working and paying bills when we are bombarded with ads to spend more. However, a part of the effort to celebrate holidays also comes from the fact that as an adult you have more freedom to make choices. You don’t have to have to cook Turkey on Thanksgiving if you don’t want to. You can choose to order Pizza or anything else you crave. You don’t have to be social. You can choose to go anywhere you want, and do anything you want to do, or nothing at all. You can partake of crazy holiday sales or boycott them. You can even choose to not celebrate Thanksgiving at all, especially because to some people it represents oppression and the obliteration of several cultures.

For me personally, I choose to celebrate Thanksgiving by reflecting on who and what I’m thankful for in my life. Above you will find photos of me and people that I’m blessed to have in my life.

I’m grateful for my awesome parents and beautiful sister who encourage me to follow my dreams.

I’m grateful for close friends and extended family that although I don’t see them everyday, I love them very much. I’m fortunate to have an agreement that we are just a text or phone call away, any time.

I’m grateful for my tribe of writers, fancy dancy friends and fellow actors in The Vamps Next Door. We get to be playful, creative and weird and best of all, we celebrate each other for it. I especially want to give a shout out to my unofficial mentors Blaze McRob @wyomingBob, his lovely wife Terri Del Campo @TerriDelCampo and Linda Addison @nyebird. They inspire to me keep moving and they remind me that writing is a marathon, not a sprint.

I’m grateful for new friends I met over the past year or two, some I met while travelling or being out solo. My adventures (and wine dinners) were more fun because of them.

I’m grateful for my day job and the people I have worked with throughout the years (this includes my favorite supervisor who I torture from time to time about how awesome my New Orleans Saints are, compared to his dallas cowboys are this season.) Every day is a treat, regardless of if the workload is hard or easy.

I’m grateful for internet friends. Although we haven’t met in person, they have been supportive and caring. If ever there’s a way I can support them, I’m happy to do so too. I definitely have to give a shout out to Papa Lou and The Broken Army www.thebrokenones.org. When researching different religions, beliefs and magic for my stories, I came across the handsome “alcohol fueled, southern born national treasure” Papa Lou. His insights in the world of Hoodoo and life in general are interesting and entertaining. I love his stories and his southern charm! What also keeps me tuning into his YouTube channel is his passion to help out other people, especially those in need. He doesn’t brag about it too often, (although he swears he is the King Of Christmas) but he’s made it known that he feeds homeless people in his area, and made it a mission to help out a few families for Thanksgiving and Christmas. If/when I make to to Atlanta (for more research for my next book Enlightening of the Damned) I’m gonna find him, buy him a beer (or two) and ask for more stories.

I’m grateful too, for the friends and loved ones who wouldn’t want to be mentioned on social media. I’ve told them in person and I’ll say it again; I appreciate you being in my life.

Lastly, I’m grateful to YOU, the person reading this blog right now. Thank you for letting me share silly and serious parts of my life with you. I hope you are entertained and inspired for things in your own life.

Butterflies in June 2018

On my walk around the neighborhood park, my sister and I noticed black and red caterpillars slinking across the sidewalk. We weren’t sure what kind they were until we overheard a dad say to his daughter “Look sweetie, that’s gonna be a Monarch Butterfly someday”. How impressive! Based on the little spikey critters that were out, it looked like there would be lots of Monarchs in the near future.

After some sleuthing on Google, it turns out that no, the little guys I saw on the sidewalk weren’t Monarch caterpillars. We might have an interesting group of moths or Mourning Cloak butterflies in a few months?  I also found out that the regal Monarch butterflies are possibly an endangered species. I did spot a few Monarch butterflies that day, but it was a challenge to take a photo of one.  At any rate, it was cool to see nature at work.

It’s always a treat for me to watch butterflies dance in a blue sky on a nice sunny day. Observing the caterpillars struggle across cement made me wonder how something so small (and menacing to some) could end up so light and colorful, floating off to exotic lands. The answer is metamorphosis, a change that takes time and energy. There’s a bit of a struggle and hard work too. I don’t want to impress on anyone that life always have to be rough. However, sometimes we have to push a little more, do a little extra to grow, and soar toward our goals and dreams.

So friend, I encourage you to keep pushing toward your goals.  Do a little extra whenever you can, to grow into the person you want to be. When life gets busy or hard please keep going.  We all get tired.  We all need a break from time to time. If you fall, that’s okay.  The important part though is to get back up. Pick up that pen! Get on your feet! Dust off that goal!  If you need help, reach out.  Ask questions! Butterflies don’t just pop out of their cocoons by pushing a button. The struggle is real.  Floating off to new adventures and turning your dreams into reality is real too, if you put in the work.