Let’s Talk About this “Rona” The Coronavirus! – I know, I know…

Safety Precautions & What is “Pandemic” vs an “Epidemiccrisis

I know, before you give me a deep embedded *sigh* – by now you’ve probably heard about the coronavirus more times than anyone else would care too and I get it, I’m a little worn out of the word myself. However, now that this “Rona” as I call it, is no joke and truly something you should be preparing for. I thought I’d talk about the difference between what a pandemic and epidemic crisis is, along with giving you a couple of tips on how you can keep yourself as well as your home healthy.

So, first things first. What’s the difference between a pandemic and epidemic crisis. When first talks of the coronavirus began, I heard that it was just an epidemic crisis and monitoring was going on, however over the last weeks, it has now become a pandemic, which takes this “Rona” case from a 10 to a clear 100 overnight!

  • An Epidemic Crisis is: When a disease or illness is isolated to one region or country.
  • A Pandemic Crisis is: A widespread infectious disease, bacteria, or virus that sickens a large number of people worldwide.

Also, some other terms you need to know?

  • Asymptomatic – means someone is showing no symptoms.
  • Symptoms – showing known signs or a virus and/or illness.

Now that we have that out of the way and you know the difference because truth be told, I didn’t until more info about the “Rona” spread across the news waves and the trillion updates we’ve gotten for what seems like every min/hour after. However, it’s here and I have this strong feeling that it’s going to get worse before we see a light and rainbows at the end of the tunnel.

~ BUT DON’T FRET! ~

I know this too shall pass just like Y2K, Anthrax and everything else that came to shift the nation prior. Although this case seems like it will be remembered for years to come. In the wake of the “Rona” epidemic, there are things that you can do to stay well, be safe and keep you sanity on the up and up no matter the mad dash people are making to the stores in a frenzy!

Stay Well

With everything going on and as reports suggest, it’s best to drink plenty of water, take your multi’s and /or anything that will boost your immune system. I’m a HUGE fan of tea but not just any type of tea. I love the teas that have added health benefits to them such as this new one that I’m trying right now (see below) and it’s really good too. I got mine from Amazon but you can find it at your local Wal-Mart (I doubt if it’ll be gone off the shelves). I take my multi-vitamins as well as drink my Emergen-C! which is chock full of vitamin C. And not only wash your hands but give it a vigorous scrub, that way germs are actually getting washed off (more on sanitization next). You should increase fruit and veggie intake and get in a little exercise if you can – I plan to take out my walking tapes. You can walk around your house or in your neighborhood with discretion!

Be Safe

The crazy thing about this “Rona” is that you just don’t know who’s a carrier and that could be anyone!! since the average person will not start showing symptoms for quite a few days. Most cities and states have already begun shutting businesses down or limiting the interaction of events in which involve people. We now reference this new terminology as “social-distancing” – If you just happen to go out, cover your mouth and neck with a scarf and be careful of the places you go and how many people are intended to be there. Carry sanitizer with you and take advantage of the sanitizer wipes in stores to wipe down your grocery and/or carry baskets. I would sanitize my hands afterward as well.

I know my friend Deborah started carrying Clorox wipes in a zip lock bag in her purse when she took them out to wipe down the table we were going to eat at for girls’ night out with us and another friend and took out her big bottle of sanitizer. I believe I realized at that point just how REAL things were, the waitress even asked her could she use some…lol. You have to protect yourself and others as well. Especially yourself, even if others don’t.

Sanity vs. Panicky

This health crisis has everyone up in arms, of course, you can tell by the empty shelves in the grocery stores and the rush to get EVERYTHING in sight’s eye whether you really need it or not. My friend told me over the weekend that she saw a guy come out of the store with five deep freezers, yes FIVE! and here it is I was debating on if I should get just one. I understand the concern and the frenzy because at this point, nobody knows the outcome or what’s really going to happen and I get it, however, remember in the bible when Jesus slept in the midst of that raging storm? (Matthew 8:23-27) He wasn’t fazed by it, neither was he fretful but the disciples were afraid and probably thought that the boat would capsize and they’d be lost at sea or something worse. When they awoke Jesus, crying for him to get up and do something about the endured crisis (epidemic), he spoke “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”

With one word, he calmed the sea and everything was fine. What am I trying to say? This Pandemic scare is no different than that incident back in Jesus’s time. This is the time to ask yourself, am I going to panic? or stand still and trust that God has this ALL under control. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying NOT to prepare because afterall, I do believe God wants us to use wisdom even in this crisis but what I’m saying is that we shouldn’t allow this crisis to make us question our faith in the man who can say one word and calm all this chaos. But the faith is not so much in what God can do but in how you react to what’s in front of you. Are you going to fear, fail or fall under the mounting pressure?

Find something that will keep your mind occupied in this time, whether it be a song, a book, a quote or a reading of scripture such as the one provided above. Meditation is also a good source.

As I told my subscribers last week, If we survived Y2KH1N1AnthraxEbola and etc – we can surely fight our way through this one!

Much Love & Prayers to you and yours, Be Safe, Use Wisdom & Don’t forget to Sanitize! 

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Did you notice that I didn’t blog last week?, Well, I actually did. Did you miss it, did you miss me? Well, why not become a subscriber because there will be times that I’ll be sharing things there and not on here! Subscribe today to not MISS anything – whether I’m here or elsewhere!

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Also, with the cancellations and closures – most of us will be “stuck inside the house” is there anything you’d like me to talk about and/or discuss on the blog? leave a comment and let me know!
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I Need Help! Can Someone Get Me A Counselor, Please?

Featured Image Credit: Defendernetwork.com

Okay, say it with me…
THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH GETTING HELP!

Now that you’ve said that, let’s dig into my topic above. March in my mind is Mental Health Awareness month, now before you get all technical with me, I know there’s a mental health awareness day somewhere during the year but if you ask me? It can be anytime you realize or come to grips that you seriously need to talk to someone.

That’s the realization I came to last month. I’m always there for other people, I always take out time to listen to them, their problems, issues, hurts, habits and hang-ups and I really do listen. Once their through talking, I give my two cents on the matter, in most cases I’ve prayed with them or include them in my prayers once the convo is over and they go on their merry way. NOW, how does this all play out when I need someone to talk too???

Do you hear the crickets??..

Yes, that’s usually what I hear OR if I do talk to someone, it’ll start out being about my issue and somehow it reverts to their issue and I end up helping them through theirs without getting my issue dissected. I once was friends with someone who did this on MORE than one occasion. I’d always love seeing them and hanging out, they’ll ask me about my day and how things have been going with me and I’ll respond and the next thing you know, there on themselves, their life, their goals, their family, their business and their this and their that and the list goes on and on and on. Most times by the time they’d work their way back around to what I had to say, I’d be too exhausted to answer them and all I can get out is…

“Everything’s Just Fine” but in my head, that was a LIE!

Anywho, that’s been my life with friendships and unfortunately personal relationships as well. I’ve always put others before “ME” and last month I found myself doing that yet again and decided that enough was enough. I have to talk to someone and if I can’t find people around me that’s willing to listen, I’d find a counselor that will.

Here’s what I found out with my insurance plan in regards to mental health and some tips on how you can put yourself FIRST starting now in 2020. Because It’s never too late…

Check your insurance plan

Image credit: Quicken Loans

Mental health is on the rise and I’m so happy that more and more people are discussing it, the more we talk about it the less taboo it’ll feel. It’s nothing to be ashamed of either, hey – we can ALL use a mental check. In pursuing a counselor, I googled my insurance to see what counselors/offices accept it. Once I went through the list provided, I then called my insurance company to see if these doctors were in-network or out of network. Luckily the one I chose was in-network. Out-of-network is okay just know that you’ll be paying a little more in co-pay. I also found out that my co-pay was $25 and that my plan came with unlimited visits for that amount. Now that’s a win-win, so don’t be afraid to reach out to your insurance carrier, after all – that’s what you’re paying for every month. Might as well take advantage of it.

Realize Your Limits

Image credit: Lifedaily.com

Maybe seeing a therapist is NOT on your to-do list at the moment and that’s okay. However, you need to realize when you’ve reached your limit in a conversation. In the past, I’ve talked to people and have gotten the worst headache/migraine afterward or just felt like – BLAH!! We have to realize and I totally believe in this, people transfer their energy onto you. While you want to help a friend, you have to think about your sanity and your Feng sui as well. It can be thrown completely off if your friend is going on and on and on again about the same old drama you gave her or him pointers on months ago. Self-care is the best care. Sometimes you just have to say, “Look I gotta go” or “I just had something to come up – can I call you back?” learn to give yourself a BREAK even in the midst of a convo. And you better believe, your sanity is awaiting to applaud you.

You Better Get Selfish

Image credit: Sadhguru.org

This goes into the “Self-Care” regimen. I’m learning this even now, you don’t have to respond to every text or answer every call (unless it’s life or death) at the drop of a hat because someone needs you. You need you, your body and mind need you to be able to think clearly and focus on you and your needs. If you give EVERYONE in the world your time or what little you have after a long day of work. Then what’s left for you? Oh, my bad – THE BED! because that’s exactly where you’ll be going and nobody has time to work, do family, put out fires with your friends and etc and NOT be able to stay awake for at least 2 hours to do something for yourself. Life wasn’t set up for you to be that way, but you know how life works – it goes in the direction you lead it. Think about it.

Truth brings — CHANGE

Image credit: Bing

I’ve had my share of toxic friendships and relationships, the thing is I didn’t really know they were toxic until they left me broke, dry and questioning my own sanity. Our life lets in what we put out – if you keep talking to people that just don’t get it or that keeps you in a box, everything else that comes your way will be the same way. We have to learn to speak up and I’m preaching to the choir on this one, I don’t speak up enough. I let things go on and I accept people’s “ish” because I either don’t want to lose them or afraid I’m being too pushy with my standards, so I digress. The one thing I have to constantly drill in my head is, to be honest with myself as well as the people around me. If it means they’ll leave me, then let them. It just means they were out of place in my life anyway. If it makes me uncomfortable, say it. If I feel as though I’m giving 100% and only getting 20% in return? then leave! And you know what? you don’t have to give ANYONE an explanation for doing so.

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Life is ALL about making the right choices that will push us forward into being the GREAT and AMAZING beings we were created to be in the first place and if that means being a little selfish and/or getting a little help along the way to accomplish that? Then, by all means, DO IT!

Do you have a counselor or go to therapy sessions? How do you handle a convo that pushes you past your mental limit? Sound off in the comments!

December’s Going Already?? & Safety Is The KEYYYYYYYWORD…

Hey, Peeps – What’s Up!

OMGosh!OMGosh!OMGosh!

Can you believe it’s December already?, can you believe next Wednesday is CHRISTMAS??!!! Okay, so I really don’t like how 2019 came in here as quick as the wind and about to leave us like THE FLASH!!

Image Credit: The Flash/CW

Like THIS. YEAR. DIDN’T. COME. TO. PLAY!!! (yes, that’s me doing a clap back) and even in these last few days/week, we have left it’s apparently not showing any signs of taking a pause. (Sigh, I digress) I will say however, I need it to SLOWWWW all the way down, the faster the years come the OLDER I’m getting…….sigh again…..Can someone please give 2020 a call and ask that it slow its roll? I feel like I can’t really ENJOY an age because before I know it, I’m about to turn another one! In the words of my favorite cartoon character…

Image Credit: Bing/Charlie Brown

So, do you have any plans for the “rushed” holiday season? I’m sorry, I know I seem a little salty about this whole year rush thing, but it is what it is and we might as well enjoy it, right? It could be so much worse, gotta be grateful no matter what (that’s me talking positively to rinse the salt out my mouth =)

While my emotions take a chill on ice, I have to say, I LOVE CHRISTMAS! now if the year wants to give us a blessing? It can make it be Christmas all year round, with good weather that is. It’s just something about this time of year that makes me feel giddy. Everyone’s so nice and caring, it brings me to a song by one of my favorite gospel artists. Grammy, Stellar and Dove award winner, Fred Hammond. He’s one of my favorite gospel artists, however, he has a Christmas CD entitled “Christmas, Just Remember” it was released in 2001 so it’s a little old but it’s definitely a goodie. My favorite song on the album is ‘Christmas Everyday’ – here’s a snippet of some of the lyrics…

‘I wish that Christmas would be every day
Let it go on and on, and on, and on, and on
Why does this feeling have to go away?
If it were up to me, the season would never change
It would always stay the same, the same, the same

Why can’t we show each other the same love?
The same, the same good love, real love
To me, once a year is really not enough’

The lyrics are so powerful and so very me of how I feel about the holiday season, it’s one of my all-time favorite songs (outside of Nat King Cole‘s “The Christmas Song“) however, I’m sure after you listen to Fred’s mellow, laid-back tune of Christmas gracing us every day, it’ll become one of your Christmas playlist songs as well. So while you’re cooking, reminiscing and spending time with family during the holidays, let this song draw you all closer together in love, unity, and peace.

🎵🎶🎵🎶 Christmas Everyday by Fred Hammond 🎵🎶🎵🎶

Fred Hammond – Christmas Everyday

Well, while Christmas can bring on the “good feels” – it can also bring on “fear” for some reason people choose this time of year to bring the negativity to an all-time high! It’s already bad that this time of year seems to bring on more death-related incidents than any other month in the year and if that’s not scary enough, there are countless videos of people getting scammed and kidnapped. I think I’ve received more DM’s from friends as well as family members passing on information about sex and human trafficking schemes. They detail things to watch out for and unfortunately people (women and children mainly) who’ve found themselves in the snares of such chaos.

Sometimes I feel like going home, locking all my doors and staying there until I turn 100! However, the bible tells us “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7) While going into hibernation for the rest of my life sounds pretty tempting, I have to understand that I serve a God who’s in control and while I may not understand a lot of things, my faith’s in God and I know he didn’t call any of us to go into hiding but live the lives he created us to live. This includes praying and asking for guidance as well as discernment. The key to asking for this is that we actually have to listen when he tugs at us to not go a certain place or do a certain thing, which takes a lot of practice.

There are so many things going on and I couldn’t put up “every” video I received but I saw this one by Karolyne Roberts a couple of weeks ago, in which I thought hit the hammer on the nail in regards to all the scams out there. When I saw the video, I knew I’d be a great vid to share in my end of the year post (which is this one! 😁)

Karoline Roberts – YouTube

Karolyne shares pretty much all the stories I’ve heard and gives a warning as well as a word of encouragement to everyone who plans to go out shopping and etc this holiday season. I mean we need to be watchful no matter what, that’s a guarantee! The latest one I just heard last week was about a man at a gas station who asked a woman pumping gas if she was in need of painting services, she said no so he offered her supposedly his business card.

When the woman got into her car and drove off, she noticed that this man had gotten into a car with another man and followed her, by this time she became alarmed. She noticed she began to feel woozy and delirious, she had enough strength to roll down the window, in the meantime, these men were on her trail. Come to find out, the card she took had some type of gas on it. She quickly pulled into the nearest house’s driveway and began honking her horn and screaming. The men that were following seen this and drove off…

So please, please, please be careful – watch yourself as well as your kids, mom, close girlfriends and etc because it’s the women that are being targeted in these attacks!

Let’s Look our for each other and the very special GIRLS/GALS in our lives!

Well, that’s it, Everybody! That’s all I have for now. Until next year, Lord willing. I pray your 2020 is FULL of great vision. May 2020 bring extremely sweet things to you and yours!

It’s Moving Season! Are you Ready?

Yes, Yes, Yes – As the season’s are changing, so is life. Now that we’re into the month of March, this is the time of year where weddings are being planned and some lucky bride or bridezilla is looking forward to going down the aisle to her prince charming. But you know what else this is the season of? ….. the BIG MOVE!

Yessss, this is the time of year where rental contracts are up and people are either looking for new digs or contemplating on if they should continue staying where they are. Let me just say, that that’s what I just did, I did the BIG MOVE and let me tell you – you learn something different and new each time. Will this be my last move? According to my aching body, YESSSSSS it will be – but in 2, 3 or 5 years tops. That statement may change, yet again!…LOL

So what did I learn during this move? Chile, A WHOLE LOTTA STUFF

Moving just happens to be one of the toughest and hardest things you’ll do – it’s not only rough on your body (especially if you were sick with the flu the week before the move, like I was – this move liked to killed a sista…lol and I’m still recovering!) but it’s also rough on you mentally as well. Of course with anything you have to have a PLAN and moving is no different. As someone once told me, you have to…

So, if you are or do plan to take that step out of the old and into something new….you’ll have a couple of tips that hopefully could help you “plan” well along the way.

Tip #1 – Room to Room

I’m the type of person that can’t just clean one room – I have to clean multiple rooms at one time. My cleaning starts in the kitchen and then before I can get the kitchen done, I move to the living room and before that’s completed I’m in the bathroom. It’s a little insane but honestly it’s how I work. I figure if I touch everything – then I’m getting more done, which is totally wrong but I do it anyway. However, when you’ve decided that it’s time to move, my suggestion is to take one room at a time and get rid of things you don’t want NOW as well as things you might want to sell (I’ll get to that in a jiffy).

Doing these things now and hopefully you’ve given your landlord a proper 30 day notice. Will help you when move day officially comes, because who wants to take junk into a new place? I don’t and trust me, you don’t either. So now’s the time to decide what stays and what goes.

Jiffy moment here >> Do you know that I had papers (boxes of it) things such as old rental receipts from other places I stayed, old check stubs from years ago, cards from when I graduated high school (let’s not talk about how long ago that was), old letters from a best friend of mine (they were 20 years old!) I even found a love letter I had written to a guy I had a crush on when I was in my last year of high school/first year of college (that I was too nervous to give to him) – So what am I saying? I was carrying ALLLLL this stuff around from place to place for years!!! We never know what we have, go through everything and trash it or dispose of it safely (shred it!) It’s amazing the things we keep hauling around that’s not necessarily pertinent to us now. SO PLEASE, LET IT GO!

Tip#2 – Sell Those Items!

So you know those clothes that you’ve been vowing to get into or that treadmill that’s become your clothes hanger instead of a walking machine? Yeah, sell those items. I’m sure you’ve seen your new place and if it can fit the treadmill, great! but what if it can’t and no sense in taking it over if it’s still going to serve the same duties it’s doing now. SELL IT! that’s exactly what I did.

When it comes to moving I realized that people don’t have traditional yard sales anymore, I mean some people do but now that social media is a gem. Guess what, that’s where the sales are happening! In my county alone there are about 6 different ones and I joined all 6. Let me tell ya, my stuff went like hot cakes – I had so many people inquiring about things until, I was saying things were sold when they really weren’t…..It was crazy but it helped me get rid of a wide variety of things that I either wasn’t currently using or the new place was providing, such as a new washer and dryer. Can I get a WHOOT-WHOOT!!

So check out FB and see if there are online yard sales in your area and say bye bye to the old and yes to getting money for something totally new!

Tip# 3 – Be Safe

While it was exhilarating to sell off my items, I also had to be careful as everyone “online” is not who they say they are. So whether you decide to sell online or some other way, be safe in doing it. People are scared of you just as you are of them…

a) If what you’re selling is something big that cannot fit into your car. Don’t give out your address until you know for sure it’s a sale. I had many people to ask for my address but didn’t actually want to buy the items. It’s okay to let them know the county you’re in but not your address. b) If possible, have someone at the house with you – don’t be alone during an in house transaction. c) Ask that they have correct change before arrival as you don’t carry extra money.

*Bonus Tip* – Try to plan what you’re going to do by a week to week basis. Write it down and stick to it. When you’re in the process of moving, there are many things you can do to get prepped for the big MOVE and if your place looked anything like mine? Trust me, you need to make sure a plan is in place and you’re consistently working on it daily. This will ensure that come Move Day, you’ll be prepared and equipped to only take the items you’re truly going to use and it helps with clearing up your place as well.

Well, these are just a few tips to get started – I have more. Next week I’ll be discussing things you can do to get prepared to prep your rental so you can get that deposit back!

STAY TUNED!!

Dysfunctional Family & The Holiday Blues =(

The picture above courtesy of pexels

With Thanksgiving coming up next week, I thought I’d talk about family. The holidays are supposed to be the times in which we get together with family and laugh, talk, remanence, give thanks and most of EAT! But sometimes that’s not always easy, especially if you have dysfunctional family members or a MEMBER! which could make those holiday gatherings very uncomfortable.

There’s a quote that says, “Families are like fudge, mostly sweet with lots of nuts.” Does that sound like your family? Because let’s face it, we all have a family member or relatives who seem to have come from another planet than we did.

While we may all wish we can send them back for a replacement, they are still part of our family and despite the ups and downs that surround them, we have to deal with them and love them the same. I used to think that everyone had a good family except for me because we seemed to fight all the time and just when you thought everybody was getting along, something would come up out of nowhere.

It could be from something my mom said, my dad did, my sister thought or how I reacted, and the next thing we know, no one would pick up a phone for months on end.
As I got older, I realized that even the biggest families had issues and no family is perfect by any means and while my family was distant, there were other families who didn’t come together at all or allowed hatred to circle through them and build a fire that never ended.

We can’t save the world or help every dysfunctional family but listed below are a few tips to maybe keep the line of communication open with our estranged relatives before, during and after the holidays.

#1. Communicate regularly.

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This may be very hard for some families because most of them have built up so many issues and have held onto so much hurt, that it’ll take several counseling sessions to get those layers pulled completely away. But I’ve found that most family situations can be solved if we can learn to talk to each other before a situation escalates out of control.

*At least you try to talk it out, even if they don’t want too*

Do your part, because at the end of the day, what YOU DID really will matter. If they choose not to conform, then you did your part – pray for them and move on. Hopefully, they’ll come around when they’re ready.

#2. Seek counseling from a family therapist.

individualtherapy

If regular communication does not succeed, then counseling is the next step. Some dysfunctional family issues may have nothing to do with you per se, but it could have something to do with what an older family member did.

Issues could’ve already been in place prior to your birth, in which the family never settled among themselves, which caused division with other family members. Counseling helps to get us past the “Then” to help us be better for the “Now” and future family generations to come.

#3. Back off but not completely.

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Most families feel that most fiery problems will resolve themselves by staying away, in most cases, this only makes matters worse and hatred increase. While situations may become too strong to handle and you may have to back off just to protect yourself, don’t allow it to stay that way.

Don’t let weeks, months, or even years keep you from being connected to your family unless you have been totally pushed away and in that case – it’s not your fault or problem but the individuals who closed the door without making amends.

#4. Forgiveness is key.

Forgive

When you’ve made every attempt to bring about reconciliation, but find that there’s no effort on their part, then you have to forgive them and move on.
Forgiveness doesn’t excuse the behavior that dysfunction brings, but it allows us to learn from what happened and to let it go (in which is a process all by itself)

Remember, it’s not about what they did, what they said or what they haven’t done; it’s about what you do. Forgiveness is your pass to have peace for yourself not them.
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We cannot change our families, because we’re stuck with them forever. No matter what we think or how we feel about them, they are a part of us, and we are apart of them.
But you’ll find out that family no matter how dysfunctional it may be, is a really great addition to your life. It’s something that everyone dreams of having – even if it can’t be with their “natural” ones.

Divider-Line-Swirls

Okay, so BIG announcement. My next post will be on next Wednesday and will be my last post for the year. I know, I know – don’t cry……haha (I’m sure you’re not) Anywho, I’ll not only be taking a break from blogging but also social media as well. After next week, I won’t be posting anything until after the beginning of the year. 

What will my last post be about??? You’ll have to see next week – hint, hint: it’s going to be light and informative (the fun informative =)

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See Ya Next Week Friends!!animation (5)