52 Week Blog Challenge- Week 31

My Scariest Experience

So I am thinking about my scariest experience where you literally pee your pants, scream until your head falls off and you develop a phobia….I couldn’t think of one really recent so I went way back. Right now at my age of 42, it doesn’t take much to get me scared but along time ago in my young years, you couldn’t scare me too much…I thought.

It is Halloween in 1997, and I was 19 years old and this was before I stopped celebrating Halloween. I found out that the holiday was not one I wanted to celebrate because I became a Christian. But, don’t get me wrong, my kids do celebrate it with costumes and trick or treating and I eat the candy they bring home. At that time in my life, I loved to dress up at work-I worked three jobs so I couldn’t go trick-or-treating.

One night some of my friends wanted to go out for Halloween and suggested…you guessed it a Haunted House. I said well, since I haven’t done that before I went.

Looks scary….doesn’t it. It was one story but let me tell you, I was petrified! I screamed all the way through with chainsaw guys, spooky skeletons, things jumping out of nowhere. Scary men were following so close to me, I had to start to fight because it was dark and I did not know what the hell was in front or back of me. I was frightened that I developed a phobia for haunted houses. Of course, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to watch movies that to have to do with haunted buildings and such. I love the movie 1408 with the haunted room in the hotel.

I don’t believe in that stuff but it is entertaining. Scary movies and comedies are my favorite. So, to this day, I stay away from them…not just because they are scary but because I have high anxiety and panic attacks, I have to stay away from them.

Thanks for reading. Tune in next week. Don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe to my blog!!

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Blogging is so much FUN!!!

This week marks the 2nd anniversary of my blog!! 🎉I had so much fun this year, even with everything that has happened in the last 6 months…I have been able to still have my writing be so positive. I wanted to start out by thanking Fashion Potluck for recognizing my writing and creating a free platform for women to write, inspire and promote their work.

In the past year, I traveled, met new people and was able to tell peoples stories.

In October 2019, I had the opportunity to visit one of the places on my bucket list which was Puerto Rico. I went with 8 wonderful women who are from a group I talk alot about because of the sisterhood they represent. Click here to read all about my trip:My Trip to Puerto Rico

In October 2019, I also wrote a blog post raising awareness for Breast Cancer and I was able to tell my friends mom story. It was a great honor to do it. Click here to read: The Heart of a Dancer

In May 2020, the group celebrated 2 years with over 4,000 women members and unlike last year, we had a celebration virtually. I wrote a post to commenarate the occasion. Click here to check it out:Queen On

In June 2020, I had the pleasure of being featured in a great blog I follow called Lauras Books and Blogs! Click here to check out my interview:Lauras Books and Blogs

During quarantine, I have been reading more and I have read several books and decided to start a Book Review section for author titles.

First author I read was Rachel Hollis and I read completely”Girl Wash Your Face” and working on “Girl, Stop Apologizing” Click here to read my review:Rachel Hollis Book Review

The next author is a friend of mine Trisha Williams and she has written over 17 titles. She is also in editing and consulting helping other writers get their story out. These are the books I have read so far from her and going to keep it going! Click here to read my review:Ireesky Fiction Book Review

Right Now, I am working on a 52-week Blog Challenge and I am in week 30. I have a new blog post up every Wednesday on My Blog.

I am so looking forward to what is in store for the next year!!☺

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52 Week Blog Challenge- Week 30

A Life Lesson learned

Family, Friends and Business Don’t Mix

Let me clarify. When I say family, friends and business don’t mix, I don’t mean owning a business and working together, I mean telling your business. Oil and water don’t mix.

Let me tell you a story….

I am 42 years old and I am a wife and mother and in another life I worked retail for almost 30 years. Even when I was younger, for some reason, I was never the type of person to make friends easily. There are just those people that either are too intimidating to be friended or people just don’t like them. I have always thought that I was too intimidating to people. People say I have a great heart and care alot about people. This is true. For some reason, I tend to care too much and it sometimes works for me but more often times it works against me. People who are caring, hurt on the inside and tend to overlook those who try to take advantage of them. I think I am fun person but it just seems like when people friend me they are looking for what they can get from me.

I am very proud of what I have accomplished in my life including my family and I tend to overshare out of fear that I will be found dis-interesting. Let me tell you…it has worked against me time and time again.

Even when you are talking to your family, be careful who you speak to about your business-everyone knows that your life is an open book when you are not around. I learned the hard way this past year and I had to stop talking and generalize everything. I’m on a path to talking about positive things in my life instead of negatives and keep my opinions to myself. I learn alot about people when I just listen to them and talk less. I found that women like to talk with one another and share with everyone male or female while men stay quiet about their life with women and only express their feelings among other men….men do gossip. Don’t talk about your marriage problems or how rotten your children are unless it is your counselor. Everyone has problems at home, this is no secret and the person you are telling them to, unless they are living that same situation, can’t give you advice or tell you what is best for you. So, I would suggest keeping these things to yourself, otherwise it came come back to bite you in the ass. It has been done on Reality Tv Shows…just saying.

If you do not want someone else to know your business, don’t tell it. If you have to have talk, focus the conversation on positive things in your life. Don’t speak of things you’re going to do, speak of what is already in motion and done. People like to talk about what you said you were going to do, so, if isn’t done and hasn’t started yet, don’t talk about it.

Plans are merely Procrastination while Actions are Goals set to be Completed. LS

So my life lesson learned is to listen more and talk less. The world needs more positive than negative in it. Gossip and talking about one another doesn’t solve any problems, all it does is divide us. I f you want to share your life, do it in such a way that involves inclusion like a project or a mission you would like to complete. Empower not bring down. We all have to exist in this world and if we spent less time with misery loves company and more on love driving hate away, the world would be a level less stressful.

That’s it!

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52 Week Blog Challenge-Week 29

Well Somebody Has to Say It!

The world right now is just chaos and for some reason everything that is going on can be traced back to the government in some kind of way. What the heck is going on? We have way too many people in charge of our welfare. Covid-19 and the brutal murders of African Americans all over the world by police have become the forefront of our lives and it all leads back to the people in charge. We are once again having to revert back to children being told what to do by adults. Everything from you don’t have the right to stand up for yourself to you get information on a need to know basis. Years have gone by and so many attacks on the African American community have gone unseen and reported because of the protection of law enforcement. I personally think that what has transpired in the last 2 months to change things for us is for the better. Sometimes, making drastic changes to history like removing all forms of inference to racism…has to be done. Taking down symbols and even replacing the National Anthem need to be done. Our community needs people in charge that believe in what they say America is supposed to stand for. At the start of Covid-19, we were not informed in time to do what was necessary to prepare ourselves for the outbreak instead it was concealed and thought to be too late to contain it. Right now, we are all divided on whether one should social distance and quarantine or everyone should wear a mask to enjoy our lives….for the sake of the economy thus helping the government. Do they really care whether we live or die…I can’t tell. From allowing the economy to open up and cases increasing to allowing for sports teams to play and triple the exposure all for the benefit of making money. This is the chain of command in charge of us:

We have the Congress, House of Representatives, Senate then the President. In that exact order is how a law is passed. Our lives our dictated by what the President signs into law. I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone, where we are returning to the dark ages.

I am from Florida and I gotta tell you, we are very divided. The Mayor of many cities in Florida have been able to pass a must wear mask law….unfortunately our Mayor has not been able to get the law passed.

Many people in Lakeland our divided on this and for me, this is just my opinion, if you are scared, are vulnerable to the virus…stay home unless you are an essential worker. You can save lives and money staying home. Everyone can just do drive-up pickup, our phones and computer apps are always available. If you don’t have technology, calling for a pickup will do. I myself, do go out to do a Walmart grocery pickup, go to the doctor and I have been to the beach. I enjoy going out to dinner but I can eat at home if I have too. The neighborhood merely bringing up the fact that they are worried about Covid-19 causes anxiety and fears and is not good for mental health. I don’t believe our economy will ever be the same. I think it would be alot easier if they would just quarantine everyone as before and keep only essential workers out there. The cases were slowing down and we were looking up but because the government has to stimulate the economy and keep us down, money has become more important than our lives.

That’s all I got…remember elections are coming up…go out and vote for the right people to run your life.

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Book Review: IreeSky Fiction

Isn’t It Time You Wrote That Book? T.E. Williams

In this blog post, I have the pleasure of introducing a lady named Trisha Williams. She has an established and successful Editing and Consulting Services business to help writers get their ideas out of their heads and on paper. She is also a very talented author and writer of now over 10+ books that she has self published. Below are some of the works she has edited or consulted on by authors.

I have been taking up reading in the last couple months and I have purchased 3 of her many classics…

1. You’re Not The Boss Of Me-

This book was about a women who loved to please everyone and in the process developed feelings that were not healthy and had to learn some hard lessons and look to higher calling for help. I loved this book because it was relatable and it reminded me of myself at one point in my life. Like her, I wanted to please everyone and found out later that most people you try to please want to keep you that way and want you to never say “no” to them. My health and well-being became more important and saying “No” didnt turn out to be that bad. Women are always working harder then they should, Trisha Williams lets you know that it is not your duty to do it all and stand up for yourself. Please yourself first then everything else comes second. This book took me 2 hours to read and was a definite page turner.

I give this book 5 Crowns!! 👑👑👑👑👑

2. Heart Condition-

This book reminded of a lifetime movie which is great because it is very deep and gets into the roots of how much family can impact the way you live your life. This story was set with 2 sisters who grew up together and had to practically look out for each other. They were lucky enough to have a strong influence in their lives but they grew up finding out the hard truth about the cost of being responsible for one another. When I was reading this, I found some parts harder for me to deal with because the sister relationship hit home for me. I read this book in 2 days but it is definately a page-turner as is the first one.

I gave this book 4 Hearts!! ❤❤❤❤

3. Side Effect-

I just finished this book yesterday and I really liked how the story didnt single anyone out. This story is about a married couple who was to celebrate their 20 year wedding anniversary and leading up to it there were alot of tests given to them and through it they learned many lessons about how the body and mind can be weak. Higher love is the key to overcome all. I have been married 22 years and have seen lots of marriages including my own put the test and some have lasted others unfornately haven’t. I read this book within a week in between everything else and it is a quick read.

I gave this book 5 Diamonds!! 💍💍💍💍💍

I look forward to reading more of her work since we are quarantine right now and traveling is just not an option. If you would like to purchase these books or any of her other creative works, visit her website and click here: Ireesky

As I mentioned earlier, Trisha Williams is not only a self-published author but is an editor and consultant and can help you with writing your story.

“Isn’t It Time You Wrote That Book?” T.E.Williams

The answer is “Yes”

She has been in business for many years and is established and approved by the Better Business Bureau.

Call today or email her to get started with writing your story.

Follow Trisha Williams on social media via:

Trisha reading one of her great books Twin Towers❤❤❤Also available on her website here:Ireesky Fiction

Start writing….you got this!!

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52 Week Blog Challenge-Week 28

Ten Guilty Pleasures

So I have to talk about 10 guilty pleasures I have but only have 7…here it goes….

Reality TV Shows– So every week I am always tuned in to the Real Housewives of Atlanta on Bravo when a new season comes. Every Monday afternoon, I watch the DVR to catch up on what the ladies are doing. What I don’t understand about the shows even when I used to watch Real Housewives of Orange County, is, Aren’t the women supposed to already be married to be a housewife? I ask this because most of the women are not married or they have been divorced. Maybe two out of the bunch are married. I have been watching seasons after seasons and I think that they should really change the name of the show if they are not going to have them be housewives.

A second show I am watching right now is 90-Day Fiance. I like this show because of all the different couples on it….desperately trying to find love whether in the US or other countries. They have 5 series: 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 days, 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way, 90 Day Fiance:What Now? and 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After along with Pillowtalk where all the couple are in their homes watching and commentating the episodes. I love when they have the Tell-All at the end of the season and you find out stuff that happened off camera.

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2. The Food Network . Everyone knows I love food! I am a big fan of all the cooking shows and the shows I watch the most are from a famous chef and restaurateur Guy Fieri. He has two shows Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives & Guys Grocery Games. I love the Triple G games in the grocery store and I learn alot how foods are used in different recipes. My son loves to cook and is going to be attending Culinary school so I have been fascinated with helping him with different creation I see.

3. HGTV – I am a big fan of House Hunters! Although I do not like the process of moving, it is always fun to look at different houses and neighborhoods. Sometimes it makes you appreciate where you live currently and other times it makes you more eager to move when you see what is out there. Personally for me, I watch the show and love to pick out the house that’s best for them but they sometimes pick the opposite. I really love seeing my own state of Florida appear on the show

4. Sweets!! I love cakes, cookies, pies and anything with sugary. I found out recently that I am borderline diabetic so I had to almost go cold turkey on sugar. I eat fresh fruits and substitute sugars for healthier snacks. Don’t get me wrong, if there is an occasion with cake and ice cream, I will eat in a small portion.

5. Shopping! I am so glad that there are applications where you can shop online. It is so stressful to walk into a store and buy the things you need. We are social distancing right now and it makes things so much easier….even eating out with delivery.

6. Learning Something New! I like learning new things. Some people say when you get older that your brain can’t absorb as much but actually you can if you keep your brain thinking about positive things. Negative thoughts and feelings take alot more energy and cells. Today I learned the meaning of schooling and community when I was buying my fish for my tank. Asking questions doesn’t make you dumb, not asking does. If you don’t know something, ask.

7. People Watching! And no, I don’t have binoculars or sit on my front porch for hours. The kind of people watching I do is when I am at dinner with friends or when I am just at home with my family. I like to watch how people interact with one another and it is interesting to me their body language and the facial expressions. You can find out alot about a person if you just sit back watch in silence as they talk and interact with others. One of the reasons I do this, is to help me feel comfortable with those I am with and to better understand others. People inspire me alot and help me tremendously with my writing.

That’s It!

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Crown On Beautiful Queens….Happy 2nd Anniversary!!

My name is Valerie Padilla. I always believed in women’s unity. I created this platform on Facebook May 25th 2018. We are a community group. I want to empower, encourage and support other women and young ladies. My movement is strongly dedicated to ensuring that every women and girl has the opportunity and motivation to reach her full potential and live out her dreams and goals. We also build self-love, self-confidence, and self-worth. I strongly believe we are all Queens. We must respect, educate, and support each other. We are creating a sisterhood. Love, trust, and support play a role. Complete strangers becoming united for a positive cause. We presently have over 4,000 women all around the world. Our purpose is to help other women in need and show them they are not alone. Valerie Padilla

This past year, our Queens did a great job of feeding the homeless, having bake sales, donating school supplies, providing care packages and giving their time to shelters when needed. Even during our crisis, they are continuing by collecting donations of non-perishable items, supplies and toiletries for those less fortunate.

Our Queens dedicated their time in walking for causes such as Breast Cancer, Domestic Violence and the fight against the violence of innocent young youths in their community.

International Women’s Day was celebrated in honor of Queens all over the world. The Queens donated goods, their time and offered vendor products for sale.

We celebrate women everyday whether they write books, appear on television or reach a goal. Our community of women support you through all walks of life whether good or bad. We unite in prayer and blessings of positive affirmations daily.

From seeing movies like “Harriet” and “Queen and Slim” to dressing up for Holiday events, dancing in parades for “Pride Week” to celebrating birthdays daily. Camping a.k.a Glamping and a trip to Puerto Rico, these are some of the things we did pre-Covid 19. We love having a great time together!!

In the wake of our world’s pandemic Covid-19, we had to cancel events due to social distancing and find a way to be virtual. We were able to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary virtually on Facebook in the group and it was great! Alot of our queens showcased their talents by singing songs, giving speeches and sharing in prayers and blessings. During our virtual celebration, queens were able to be entered into a raffle and win prizes donated by other queens. Prizes included pampering baskets, some wine baskets, individual jewelry gifted by Paparazzi vendors and many other wonderful prizes. I won some RayBan glasses!!

Always working on making the Queens look beautiful, she has her new novelty tops in all sizes available now! If you would like to purchase click here: Valerie Padilla

The Queendom has been devastated by all the murders that have taken place by police in the last few months. Since George Floyd, the world has been turned upside down and has seen many lives of innocent people get taken away from us too soon. As we are in the process of changing history, we as a community, although quarantined, are doing everything we can to make sure that these deaths are not in vain and we got together everywhere and did a video and displayed positive words of encouragement to lift us and others up.

“A Change is Gonna Come, Yes it will.” Sam Cooke

Great community of Queens from all over the world…if you would like to be a part of making a difference in other women’s lives or if you are a women seeking a shoulder to lean on for positive uplifting, come join our unity by clicking here: Facebook

Valerie’s Women’s empowerment is also on Instagram.

Check out the 1-year anniversary post here: You are Queen today and everyday….women empowering each other 2019 and my trip to New York for celebration of 1-year anniversary post here: My weekend as a Queen…trip to New York City

R.I.H to those we have lost in the Queendom in the last year and to those who have lost their lives in the community. Stay strong and positive and we can get through this together!! Thank you Valerie for bringing us women together and making us feel like Queens everyday. We Love you….The Queendom

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52 Week Blog Challenge-Week 26

The Best Parts of the Season….

If you don’t know by now, I live in Florida and have been here for 8 years. As long as I have been here, we don’t have the change of seasons but change of temperature. We go from hot in the Winter, hotter in the Spring, hot death in the Summer and little bit hot in the Fall.

So basically all I am saying is, we have nothing to look forward to as far as temperature is concerned but we do get hurricanes. I am originally from Cleveland, Ohio born and raised and I can tell you what the best parts of those seasons are. Although it is cold 9 months out the year, I wouldn’t trade wearing tank tops and shorts for anything.

4 Seasons……..

Winter:

Snow covers grass, you don’t have to worry about cutting the yard
Christmas- My favorite season
Snowball fights
Fully clothed, covered bodies. Don’t worry about my weight

Spring:

Fresh flowers
Not to cold or too hot
Getting together for Easter holiday dinner
Rainy days with a lot of movie night

Summer:

Going to the beach
Family Vacations
Walk out to the car without a coat and warming the car up

Fall:

Kids start school
Colorful leaves
Candy on Halloween

These are the best parts of the season for me. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe!

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52 Week Blog Challenge-Week 25

My Favorite Recipe…..

No doubt about it, I LOVE Food!! I watch the FoodNetwork on cable and I love the shows Diners, Drive-thru and Dive-Ins and Carnival Eats. When I am watching these shows, I always make sure I have eaten already otherwise you can get in some trouble.

When I was a kid, my dad taught me how to cook and one of my favorite things he cooked was CHILLI…..Yummy. While he was cutting all the vegetables and preparing the ground beef over the skillet, it would get “hot” in the kitchen

My Dad’s Recipe (from what I can remember)

2 lbs of ground beef cooked
2-3 cans of whole or diced tomatoes
2 cans of tomato paste
2-3 cans of kidney beans
Green pepper chopped
Onions chopped
1 packet of chilli seasoning
Simmered for about an hour in regular pot

and serve with saltine crackers

My dad used to use those heavy duty pots, the one that you pass down from generation to generation. (It was black, though)

Flash forward…..

My recipe is similar with a few alterations because of my dietary restrictions

3 lbs Ground Turkey cooked
2 cans of kidney beans
Chopped onions
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
Chopped green, red and yellow or orange peppers
1 packet of chili seasoning
Simmered in a crock pot for a couple hours

serve with saltine/ Ritz crackers or like the other 4 members of my family, they put chili hot sauce on it. I don’t do hot sauce at all. Here’s my crock pot.

So, that’s my favorite recipe, Enjoy!

Happy Dads Day to all Dads even mothers who are both parents. Me and my dad are so far away during this time but thanks to technology we are closer than ever!! Love you, dad.

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52 Week Blog Challenge-Week 24

Why does it seem like we are always going in circles like the Earth’s orbit?

Of course, this post was supposed to be about one thing and now with everything that has happened since the last week of May, it has to be included in this post. We all have heard by now about the unfortunate death of an African American named George Floyd who was murdered by police officers during a routine call May 31. As we take a moment of silence to pray over the family he has left behind we have to be advised that it can be any one of us at any time. The fact that he was a black man has stirred things up like back in the Watts Days after the brutal beating of Rodney King in the 90’s. I remember watching this as a teenager and just can’t understand for the life of me, how or why people get so angry and want to attack someone almost to death. With the right to bear arms and be able to defend yourself, it seems it stops with citizens, and allows for authority to do whatever they want and get away with it, Period. R.I.H

I am just so tired of all of it, it makes me so sick that as a black person I can’t even rely on the police to protect me, not to say there isn’t a small % of good cops but I am losing faith in their training and morality. All these riots that are happening, with all the protesting with Black Lives Matter shouldn’t be happening right now.

My Biggest Dream In Life……

Everyone who follows me knows that my children are half black and 1/4 white and 1/4 Puerto Rican and I am worried about their safety. We teach our children to be respectful to authority at all times even when approached by police but what happens if a cop is having a bad day and my child becomes a target. I want to get back to seeing pictures and videos of police rescues and doing good in the community. It is a fact that now that everything is where it is at, not alot of kids want to be policeman in this day and age. It really shines a bad light on the motto “Protect and Serve” Although what has happened is devastating, I don’t agree to compiling violence with violence. We all have a responsibility to make sure that we don’t set bad examples for those we have that look up to us. I want to see that everyone band together in peaceful unity and not destroy everything that we have built as a society. We have to think back to how Martin Luther King would have handled this, besides he has a street named after him wrapped around the Earth.

Racism, Equality, Political Change, Separate but Equal, Peacefulness and Unity. All these things are what should be happening right now. Just a reminder of what we are and should be wanting to see come to light.

Talking about something keeps it a dream. We must act everyday on change to make a dream a reality. For every person you come in contact with be cordial and put all prejudice aside.

….There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?”
We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of
police brutality. Martin Luther King Jr. (excerpt from I Have a Dream Speech)

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