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If We Were Having Coffee: Prepare for Christmas Break

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I’d like to wish you all Happy Holidays. I know not everyone celebrates Christmas, so I want to wish everyone a good holiday, no matter what you are doing this year.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’ve just completed my last week of work for the year. My job doesn’t start back up until January 2017 so I’ll be off for the next couple weeks. Unless I’m able to find something else close to home or a job using my degree, I’m hoping to spend the next couple weeks enjoying my time off and look for another job. But these last couple weeks went okay. My crew did a secret Santa of our own, which was very enjoyable. I like exchanging gifts with people because I enjoy seeing the look on a person’s face when they open their gift. I also like the act of giving gifts because I like getting things for people that they want or need. Yes, getting gifts is just as exciting too, but I really enjoy giving gifts to people more. Just the idea of making someone’s day with a simple sign showing I care fills me with so much joy.

But I’m also glad this semester is done because it’s been a very trying one. A lot of things happened at work this school year that really tried my patience, made me realize I need to get a job elsewhere as soon as possible. While I’m extremely thankful that they’ve kept me on, it’s my time to move on. I need to start my career now. I need to work somewhere I enjoy, around people with similar passions and interests. Somewhere I know my hard work will be appreciated instead of taken advantage of. I know I’m not happy with this job anymore so it’s time for me to say goodbye as soon as possible. I just need to get a job somewhere else first, which is something I sincerely hope I’ll be able to do during this short break. So I’m hoping to really buckle down on job applications these next couple weeks while I’m at home so I can leave for good. Fingers crossed I’m able to find places hiring and get scheduled for an interview soon.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I’ve continued watching Criminal Minds and playing Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. I’d also like to tell you I finished reading Fell this afternoon and plan on writing my review once I’ve completed this post to publish on my blog.

I’d also like to apologize for not writing as much too. I know I’ve probably already apologized so many times for this, but I just haven’t been writing a lot lately. There are times where the flow of words come out of me very quickly. During these moments, I’ll have something to write about and you’ll notice more posts on my blog. But when I’m not writing as much, you’ll see my writing schedule is all over the place. I’ll post every couple weeks, sometimes go two or three weeks without any writing being done, or just stop posting altogether except for whenever I have a review ready.

I know my blog is mostly for book and video game reviews, but I really want to branch out with my writing a little on here too. Maybe even do more Flash Fiction Challenges or poetry, when the time feels right. Or short stories too. I don’t know. But either way, I want to have more content to publish on my blog. Because I feel like I just haven’t been posting quite as much. I don’t know. I think I could just be very critical of the way I’m blogging right now, which is also possible because I know how hard I can be on myself at times. Regardless, I want you all to continue following my blog because you enjoy the content I post. So I want to do more on my blog whenever I can. But until I figure out what that is, I hope you all stay here a little while yet. Even during the moments when I don’t have much to write about because my mind is moving all over the place.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you we are getting ready for Christmas here. I sent out my Christmas list a little while ago and Mom and I have started Christmas shopping for our family Friday night. We continued doing some of our shopping today too and will probably be doing some more in the next couple days as we prepare for my sister and grandmother to be here with us. We have yet to put up any Christmas decorations though so I’m sure we’ll be doing that too soon enough.

This will probably be the last coffee post for 2016, since next weekend will be Christmas and the one after we’ll be entering into the new year. So I would also quickly like to say too that I hope you’ve all had a wonderful 2016 and wish you all good luck in 2017 and what’s to come! I also hope this weekend and next will be a good one and I promise to be writing more on my blog again soon.

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Book Review: The Sight (The Sight #1)

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Rating: 4 stars

In the shadow of an abandoned castle, a wolf pack seeks shelter. The she-wolf’s pups will not be able to survive the harsh Transylvanian winter. And they are being stalked by a lone wolf, Morgra, possessed of a mysterious and terrifying power known as the Sight. Morgra knows that one of the pups born beneath the castle holds a key to power even stronger than her own power that could give her control of this world and the next. But the pack she hunts will do anything to protect their own, even if it means setting in motion a battle that will involve all of nature, including the creature the wolves fear the most: Man.

I remember the first time I read this novel I was in middle school. I don’t remember how I came upon it. What I do know is that the cover intrigued me and made me interested in reading the story between its pages. And so I did, several times throughout middle school and high school. It’s a story I loved reading back in those days that I felt the need to revisit.

Even though I’ve read The Sight before, I found my love for it is still there. The story is just as beautiful and enchanting as when I last read it. It’s rich in detail about wolves, making it clear David Clement-Davies did his research on the wolf pack hierarchy. As someone who finds wolves to be fascinating and beautiful creatures, the story in this book’s pages whispers to me and reminds me of why I love stories with high elements of fantasy.

I love this book too because of those fantasy elements. The story centers around this mysterious power known as the Sight. This power is rare, wolves are born with it and it allows them the ability to do things like see the future through the water’s reflection or seeing things through a bird’s eyes. This power adds a unique element to this story that intrigues the reader into wanting to find out how this ability plays out in this novel. It’s at the center of the whole universe these characters live in and makes me view wolves in a completely different way.

The storytelling in The Sight is very rich in detail and the characters are deeply developed in their own unique ways. My favorite character development in this story can be seen with Larka’s brother Fell who plays a very important role in this novel and the sequel that follows it. He’s the complete opposite of Larka, both in physical appearance and mentality. While Larka’s fur in color is white, he’s completely black. While Larka is the light of this novel, Fell’s character takes a drastic turn you don’t see coming. But in the end, he’s saved by Larka’s love for him when she realizes who he’s become. He plays an important role in the story that causes his character to shift in unexpected ways but that makes changes in his life for the better, leading up to him being in charge of his own destiny.

In this novel however, there were two things I didn’t like about it. I wasn’t particularly pleased that Clement-Davies had different names for the animals in the story, like the Omega wolves in a pack also being known as Silka. While I understand the author’s need to add some uniqueness to the story, I found that having these names without any real explanation to their origins can cause some confusion to readers like me, but also reduce his research credibility. These names also didn’t add anything to the story so I wasn’t able to really see why they had to be included.

I also have a love-hate relationship with the ending. While I understand why Larka’s sacrifice is necessary to keeping everyone free, it makes it feel like what she did was all for nothing. But at the same time, I understand that it was her destiny and she did what she felt was necessary for the sake of everyone else. It still didn’t make it easier for me though to accept, despite how many times I’ve read this story. It’s the one aspect of the novel I sometimes wish was different, but am also grateful because we wouldn’t have the sequel without it.

Despite these two things, The Sight is a beautifully crafted story, rich in folklore and fantasy that I find myself reading over and over again. It’s one of my favorite stories and I highly recommend it to any fantasy and wolf lover.

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If We Were Having Coffee: Be Thankful For the Things You Are Given

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Hello everyone! I hope you’ve all had a great week and that your weekend is everything you want it to be right now.

If we were having coffee, I’d ask you about your Thanksgiving. I’d want you to tell me how it went, would want to know about your Thanksgiving traditions. Then, I’d tell you how mine went. I’d tell you my sister came from Nashville to spend time with Mom and I and that we invited one of Mom’s friends over to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.

I’d say we have a lot to be thankful for. Because that’s what Thanksgiving is about: being thankful for the things you are given. At least, that’s how I choose to celebrate it. I choose to be thankful that I have a life and that I have clean water, food and a place to sleep. Because not everyone has these same comforts in life. I might at times complain a lot about the way things in my life are going. Life is hard and everyone has their own struggles they have to deal with. But I’m lucky because not everyone has things as easy as I do.

Yes, I’ve had my own struggles. But that doesn’t mean I can’t sit back and reflect on the things I’m grateful to have. I might sometimes hate my job and definitely wish I worked elsewhere, but I’m glad I have one even during the roughest of times. I’m grateful for my family. Because while we might be a small bunch, we are really close and there isn’t anyone else I’d want to spend my holidays with. I’m grateful for the friends I do have because while we might not talk as much, they are important to me and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.

I’m thankful for this blog. I love it so much because I can express my feelings and emotions in my writing to others in a welcoming community of people. I might not know every single person who reads my blog, but I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my posts. I’m thankful for my blog most of all because I can express myself. I can be my own person here and talk to others who share the same passions as me.

So if you’re reading this post right now, thank you. I appreciate you and hope you are having a wonderful day because you deserve it. Know that you are loved and don’t stop believing in yourself.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you what all else I’ve been up to. Besides spending time with my wonderful family, I’ve also made some time for myself too. Maybe not as much time as I’d have liked, but I was with family so it was okay. I was able to write a post about one of my favorite video games Kingdom Hearts for Chapter Six of the online course I’m currently taking, which can be found here if you’re interested in checking it out. I’ve been thinking about this post a lot so I figured I’d go ahead and write it so I can continue this class and become a Creator on the site.

Along with finally writing another post, I’ve also started playing one of the games in the series mentioned Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep. I’ve felt the itch to play this series games in their true order to try the best I can to actually beat all of the games. We’ll see if I’ll be able to accomplish this or not, but I’m definitely thinking about writing a post about all of the games once I do.

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Characters from Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep.

I’ve also continued watching Criminal Minds whenever I’ve had the chance and just recently started rereading a book I haven’t read in a long time. Criminal Minds is still very enjoyable for me, probably one of my favorite crime shows today. And the book I’m currently reading is still as enjoyable to me as when I last read it, which I plan on telling you all about on my next book review.

But other than this, I haven’t been up to much. When I go back to work tomorrow, I only have two more weeks until we have our Christmas break, which roughly lasts a month. So with that, I plan on thoroughly searching for a job in my field or trying to get a job closer to home.

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the rest of what’s left of this weekend.

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Book Review: The Diviners

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Rating: 4 stars

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult.

Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer.

As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened.

I forgot how much I enjoyed reading this book for Young Adult Literature class. Reading it again now years later, I find myself feeling reminded of why I enjoyed reading this book so much.

For one, The Diviners is a mixed genre. It’s supernatural, fantasy and young adult literature all mixed into one beautiful package. There’s also some elements of mystery and horror because of all the murders and the way they are described to the reader. But the way these genres are blended together make for a beautiful story waiting to be told. They all work together in a way that makes the reader enjoy these elements of each genre without being overwhelmed by them.

I also enjoy this story because of the time period. Normally whenever I read a story, I don’t pay attention to the time period because it’s not always an important aspect of the story. However, in this book, the time period helps shape the characters. It explains the way the characters respond to certain situations, and gives the reader a better understanding of what’s going on. It helps the reader understand the world they find themselves in and allows them to imagine the character’s part in it. I find myself better able to picture the world around them as the story unfolds.

The Diviners is such a good read because it knows how to enthrall the reader. Rich in detail on every page, this book keeps me coming back for more, wanting to know what’s going to happen to the characters next. I can’t put this book down because I enjoy reading it until the very end.

This book is also a good read because of the characters. I find when I read this book that Bray did a good job of character creation and development. Each character has their own set of quirks and a personality that makes you interested in learning more about them even when there’s nothing more to tell. Each character plays an important role in the story even if that role is yet revealed to the reader.

The one thing I didn’t like with this story is that it ended too fast for me. I enjoyed the story so much I didn’t want it to end. But I also felt like the climax of the story was over before it could really begin. And that bothered me because I wanted there to be a huge struggle with the protagonist and antagonist, but it just felt too simple to me.

Other than that though, The Diviners is a beautifully crafted story that I never seem to get enough of. I can’t wait to read Lair of Dreams because I know it’ll be just as good.

 

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If We Were Having Coffee: Cleaning Up House

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If we were having coffee, I’d tell you with the arrival of my grandmother coming down, things have been quite busy at home. She came to visit us a couple weeks ago to see progress being made on restoring our house back to normal. While she was here, things were initially moving slowly because they had just started getting to work. So she stayed a couple days longer so Mom wouldn’t have to take time off work.

While she was here, my grandmother Meme and I spent the first couple days around the house in case they had any questions for us. I helped Meme wash her car, and we went on walks while the guys were working on what needed to be done in order to get our house back to normal. I spent a lot of time with Meme the first couple days before I had to go back to work. But even when I was at work, I’d spend time with her when I’d get off until she left to head back home. It was a lot of fun having her for a week even if it was because of the stuff going on at our house.

But it wasn’t until she was back home in Pennsylvania that the progress picked up significantly. The popcorn ceiling where the water leaked through was replaced with more popcorn ceiling, the new bathroom flooring was put down, and plywood was placed on the living room floor until the flooring Mom wanted was eventually put down too. But with all the progress that’s been made came dirt. Lots and lots of dirt that needed to be picked up. Because of the amount of walking back and forth the guys who were fixing everything did and from tearing stuff up to put new down, dirt was getting in our house.

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So we had to do some major cleaning of the house before they continued work last weekend and this weekend too. Things like wiping the kitchen cabinets and table down, wiping the walls clean, and getting rid of all the dirt on the stairs from their use. Doing this stuff on the weekend helped keep the house clean and left us with little less dirt for the next cleaning.  I also did some cleaning while Mom wasn’t at home so she could work on what she wanted to get done.

While I know we’ll be doing some more cleaning again soon, I know there’s very little left to do before they are finished. This makes me happy because we have nice new flooring that looks really nice and our house will finally be back to normal, which means I’ll get my bathroom back soon.

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Our new living room floor. It’s cherry flooring and looks really nice in our space.

I also won’t have to deal with the way Mom is stressing out anymore. Ever since we discovered this leak, Mom has been so stressed out about all of it. So stressed that I sometimes feel like I can’t handle it. I’ve become so used to our current living situation that it’s not bothering me anymore. But for Mom, her house isn’t in order, which is something that stresses her out quite a bit. Sometimes I can handle it because it’s not too bad and because she’s okay after a little while. But I feel like with this, she’s stressed out about things that are out of her control. Things like the progress they are making on getting things restored to normal, and the way they are working on it. I want to tell her things are going to be okay, that these things take time and that our house will be back to normal before she knows it.

But she’s also stressed because she’s not always happy with their work. She makes a decision on something, then ends up not being happy with the way its implemented or they haven’t completely finished working on something and start working on something else, etc. She’s fine with their work, then isn’t. She’s not happy though because her house isn’t in order right now. So even if they are doing a good job, she’s going to find something wrong with their work or complain about how long it’s taking. She says what they’ve done is nice, but isn’t yet ready to appreciate it because her house isn’t back to normal. This is her whenever she’s stressed out about things. Especially when her house isn’t in order, which it hasn’t been for the past couple weeks.

But they are close to being done now. And we are doing things now until they’ve completed their job. Things like painting the bathroom, refreshing the bathroom doors, and painting the living room so as to make it look fresh as well as continuing the upkeep of our house. This stuff allows Mom to stay busy and not worry as much about when things will be completed. And so far, it’s been going really well. Everything looks really nice and I can’t wait for everything to be done.

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Our bathroom renovations. We’ve repainted the walls to freshen them up and replaced our toilet and counter top space, but have kept our vanity cabinets. Lighting is also new because the old lights just didn’t work well with our new bathroom style. All I need is the mirror and the look will be complete.

Besides cleaning up house, I haven’t really been up to too much else. Doing these renovations have kept me so busy that I haven’t really been able to do anything else when I’m not at work. Speaking of work, things there are pretty much the same. It continues to be a stressful and tiring work environment to me. Every day there’s always some new drama that attempts to darken my mood. But I’m doing the best I can to work around it because that’s all I can do until I can get a job elsewhere.

If we were having coffee, I’d also tell you I’m still continuing to do a good job on laying off the caffeine. Now, I won’t lie and say I haven’t been drinking any soda at all. But if I do have any soda on any given day, I usually manage to do a good job of sticking to my intake of one soda a day, except every once in a while where I’ll indulge in drinking one more soda at the most. I think this is good for me because I remember how much soda I used to indulge in and am happy to see I can cut it off cold turkey.

In other news, this week has been a very interesting one. The election came up and I was able to go out and vote. But despite my vote, Donald Trump has been picked to be the President of the United States. While I was upset because he’s not the man I’d like in power of our country, I’ve come to terms that I can’t change what’s happened. He might not be the President I want, but we are stuck with him now for the next four years. Hopefully he won’t be as bad as I think he’s going to be, but we won’t know for sure until he’s inaugurated into the White House next year.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you I haven’t done too much writing lately. With the way things have been at work and home, I just haven’t felt as up to it as I’d like. Meaning, I haven’t been working on my novel as much either like I was planning on doing. Hopefully, that’ll change this week but we’ll just have to wait and see.

I’d also like to say before I’m done I’ve started reading a different book. The last book I was reading wasn’t catching my interest anymore so I decided to reread a book I enjoyed while I was in college. So far, I’m enjoying The Diviners as much as I did when I first read it for a Young Adult Literature class I took at Columbia College.

For now, that’s really all I have to say. I’ve had so much going on in my life, both at home and work that’s been keeping me so busy that I’m sorry I haven’t gotten the chance to post as much here on my blog. I hope with this week I’ll be able to change that, or at least get some sort of writing done. But regardless, I hope you’ve all been having a wonderful weekend and I’ll catch up with you on coffee again soon!

 

 

 

 

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No NaNoWriMo This Year: Working on A Different Sort of Writing Project

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Remember how last year, I participated in NaNoWriMo and wrote about my experience? Well, I’ve decided to change things up this year.

I’m not going to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. Instead, I’m going to be working on a different sort of writing project. Something I’ve been meaning/wanting to work on for some time now, but have kept putting it off time and time again.

There’s this story I’ve been working on since I was in 7th grade. I’ve had this story stuck in my head repeatedly, picturing how it’ll all turn out and what it’ll look like completed. I’ve made various drafts of the first couple chapters, both handwritten and typed trying to decide how to continue moving it forward.

The problem is I’ve always gotten stuck at some point with it. I just couldn’t find the right words to continue the story, couldn’t decide what I wanted to happen to my characters next. So I’d stop, telling myself I’d continue with it on a later day. But I’d end up not going back to it at all despite its continued presence in my mind.

This is the story I want to write instead of participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I want to write this story because I feel like its calling to me. It passes through my mind on a daily basis, asking to be written.

So I want to take up the grueling, difficult task of completing this story. I don’t know yet how long this’ll take me to finish. But it’s something I want to do because I hope to one day have it published. I want to be an author one of these days and I think this story could possibly be my way down that path.

Unlike with my story The Swan & the Crow, however, I won’t be publishing any of this story on my blog for you to read. I don’t want to do that because I don’t want the story itself online before I can get it published.

But that doesn’t mean you won’t hear anything about it from me as I continue working on it. I’ll try the best I can to continuously update you all on how it’s going, and whenever I finally finish it, I’ll be letting you know that too.

Right now, I can also tell you what it’s about in the hopes you’ll be interested in reading it if I’m able to get it published. I’m still working on a few kinks with the title and all so my synopsis will be pretty brief.

When Derek, a young high school boy goes to get his younger sister a birthday present, he gets more than what he bargained for. When he notices a mysterious necklace that not even the store owners were aware they had, he’s curious about it and buys it to wear later. Once he puts the necklace on, however, Derek begins to transform into a being he only thought existed in fairy tales. Having to adapt to the transformation, Derek makes friends with an unlikely ally who helps him adjust to the changes in his body just in time for them to have to work together to defeat an unexpected enemy.

I hope this story sounds like something you’d read and I can’t wait to continue working on it to see where it’ll take me.  

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My Story of Why I Might Not Be Voting This Election

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After finding out who the nominees are for this year’s Presidential Election, I find myself feeling uneasy. As someone whose never really been too much into politics but always conscious of what’s going on, I find myself feeling unsure of the state America will be in over the next four years if either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump get elected into the White House.

To be honest, I’m scared at the two choices my country is having to pick from. While one candidate has more political experience over the other, they are both people I don’t find myself wanting to make a decision of which is the lesser of two evils.

Donald Trump is someone I especially will never vote for as long as he runs for office. As a woman, he’s someone I never want to see in the White House because of the recent allegations against him of raping a 13 year-old and all of the other scandals he’s been a part of over the years. He’s the type of guy who says whatever is on his mind, even things that aren’t necessarily true. Then denies he said such things even though he’s caught saying them. He reminds me of every guy I’ve ever dealt with in life that’s hurt me, like the kids who bullied me when I was in school.

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The most important reason why I’ll never vote for him is because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He has no political experience and attempts to make up for it by reminding people of all of the terrible things Hillary Clinton has done. When debating, he never answers the debate questions, just skirts around them. The only real plan of his I know of is his wall for Mexico because he never talks about the issues. He’s not a good fit for president because he doesn’t care about the American people and insults anyone that says anything bad about him.

However, Hillary Clinton isn’t someone I feel very comfortable voting for either. Though I believe she’s a much better choice than Trump out of the two, I can’t stomach her being in the White House because of the scandal with her classified emails along with the other scandals she’s involved herself with, such as Benghazi. While she has the political experience we need in the White House, I don’t like the idea of her being our president. She speaks very well about the issues, but with everything she’s done, I have a hard time stomaching the idea of her being placed in such a position of power.

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But those aren’t the only reasons why I’m uncomfortable with the idea of her winning the presidency. As a woman, I think it would be nice to have our first woman president. But at the same time, I think Hillary Clinton isn’t a good example of the type of woman we should have in office. Someone who covers up bad things they’ve done that have jeopardized the safety of our citizens isn’t someone I feel comfortable leading our country. If she were to get into the White House, I’m worried at the chances our country would have of having a woman as president ever again.

Both candidates are the worst choices we’ve ever had in any election. As someone who wants to express their right to vote, the idea that these two are my only choices scares me because I don’t like either one. Yet, if I don’t express my right to vote, I have no reason to complain. But I want to make an intelligent decision before I vote because the person whose chosen will be a leader in our country for the next four years.

But since I don’t know who I want to vote for, I don’t know if I will vote this election cycle. I don’t like the choices we are being given and am seriously debating on voting third party if I do decide to vote this election because Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump aren’t quite cutting it for me. Maybe the next election will be better all across the board to where I’ll know who I want in the White House for our country. But right now, I’m completely discontent with our choices and just don’t know if I want to vote at all.

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If We Were Having Coffee: Slower Weeks

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Sorry for the late arrival of another post. I’ve been so busy lately and just didn’t know what all I want to write about right now. Well, I do have a couple topic ideas, just not sure how I really feel about doing them yet. I hope to have another post after this one coming your way soon. I’m working on something I think you might all be interested in. Will just have to wait and see once it comes out though.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you things have continued picking up at work. Well… a little. Things have been a little slower actually now that I think about it. With Hurricane Matthew coming through, it feels like not as many students were at school this week. Mind you, things still got a little crazy at work. We did have our busy moments. Just not as many as we usually have during any given week.

It’s because of this I feel like I don’t have too much to say about what I’ve been up to. Oh, I can keep you up to date on how I’ve been doing with my caffeine addiction. There’s actually good news on that front. I’ve actually been doing a good job of cutting soda out of my diet. Good as in I’ve gone completely without soda for a while now. I tried drinking my favorite soda the other day Dr. Pepper to see how it tasted after not having it, but it tasted weird to me. So I haven’t really had it since. I then tried drinking Root Beer the next day with basically almost the same results. So I definitely can say I think cutting soda out of my intake is definitely working. Though I’ll admit yesterday when Mom and I went out for lunch with a friend I had some Sprite. More than I planned on drinking. But that’s okay because I didn’t drink any more soda after lunch. I’ve mostly been sticking to drinking water and milk, which I think will do well for me in the long run.

Speaking of this weekend, Mom and I went to a friend’s Halloween Party last night. It was quite a blast too! My Mom made a Litter Box Cake for the party to bring over and everyone else was dressed up in really great Halloween costumes.

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I was also given this cute coloring book to add to what is becoming a vast coloring book collection. It’s got a lot of cute cats, dressed up for various occasions, the type of coloring book I know I’ll enjoy coloring in. Speaking of which, I hope to start doing some more coloring again soon. I’ve been missing it and I think getting another coloring book from someone is just what I need to remind me to get back into the habit of coloring.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that’s really all I have to say. I’m planning on doing a blog post about this year’s presidential election, which is something I’m interested to see what people’s thoughts will be on it. It’ll be nothing anyone will find too surprising, but something I hope you’ll be interested to read.

But yeah, these last two weeks have actually been really slow for me. My grandmother will be coming here this week though so Mom won’t have to take as much time off and so she can see what’s going on at the house. Her contractor is supposed to be continuing the demolition process this upcoming week when my grandmother gets here so I’m looking forward to see what’s going to happen next.

Until then, I hope you all have had a wonderful week!

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Kicking Bad Habits to the Curb: My Caffeine Addiction

caffeine-addiction-soda

Everyone has some habit or another that is considered unhealthy. A habit that the person tries hard to break only to find themselves returning to it once again. For me, this habit is not coffee, but soda.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a big soda drinker. Growing up, I consumed soda without a thought to how it can affect my health. Yes, soda isn’t the only thing I drink, but it’s the beverage I consume the most above all others. Whenever I find my throat feeling dry or my head throbbing in pain, I go to Dr. Pepper for help. It’s the one constant thing in life that makes me feel better after a long and busy day.

It wasn’t until I talked to a friend of mine that I thought I might have a soda problem. I drink soda without a second thought whenever I find myself wanting it, not keeping track of how much I consume a day. I try cutting back on my soda intake, only to drink Dr. Pepper once again just because I have the taste for it.

But I want to stop drinking soda. Or at least, stop relying on it the way I do. I enjoy the taste of it, but I really need to cut back.

I don’t want to rely on it anymore. Not because I don’t enjoy it anymore but because I don’t want soda  affecting my physical and mental health in any way. As someone with high cholesterol, I don’t want to drink as much soda because I don’t want to put myself at risk for heart disease. I know soda isn’t the only contributing factor for heart disease, but by cutting back on my soda intake, I hope to better even my chances. Here are some ways I believe I can stop myself from drinking too much soda:

  1. Limiting/keeping track of my soda intake: Instead of quitting drinking soda cold turkey, I can start off by keeping track of the amount of soda I drink each day. I can do this by limiting my soda intake. By having a set number of soda to drink each day, it’ll be a little bit easier for me to stop drinking soda completely if I decide to go that route. For this reason, my goal is to try and drink one can, bottle, etc. a day. I think by allowing myself this amount, I’ll still be able to have some soda if I need it, but it will also prevent me from drinking soda just because I want it. This will allow me to better monitor how much soda I consume each day and do my best to control the amount I have.
  2. Replacing soda with other beverages: In order to better control my cravings, I’ll start drinking something else whenever I find myself wanting soda. In most cases, this’ll be either water or milk. Water is a good substitution for me because it can help me manage my weight and keep me hydrated throughout the day. While a high intake of milk can increase the chance of prostate cancer and ovarian cancer, milk is a good source of calcium and is better for me to drink than soda. I can replace soda with milk and water by drinking either beverage whenever I feel tempted to have soda to drink. By replacing soda with these beverages, I believe I’ll be better able to limit my soda intake and be on the right path to consuming less soda.
  3. Not buying soda: Whenever I go out to eat or to the store, I typically end up spending money on soda. I think not buying soda for myself at home or whenever I go out will help decrease my soda intake in the long run. I also think this will be a benefit for my wallet because the cost of soda is much higher than water. Not having soda at home will also make it easier for me to avoid the temptation of drinking it. And not having soda when I go out will save me money I could spend on something else.

I hope that by keeping track of my soda intake, replacing soda with milk and water and not buying soda, I’ll be on the right path to reducing the amount of soda I drink each day. I know this path won’t be easy and that I’ll find myself straying from it from time to time, but I know I can do it. I know it’ll be challenging but by doing this, I hope I’ll be able to reduce my calorie intake and decrease my chances of heart disease. I know the amount of soda I drink isn’t healthy and want to do the best I can to reduce the amount I consume. And I believe these steps will lead me on the path to success.

 

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