Today, I affirm to…
☺️Be happy
😎Be unbothered
😌Take the day one hour at a time
🤔Embrace trials and grow
🤭Laugh more and stress less
What is your affirmation for today?
I affirm to__________
Thank you for reading🙏🏼
Stay well and be blessed💖
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Remnants of Childhood
Remnants of hot summer days
Remain in my heart
Days of double dutch, tag
Jacks, dodge ball, have made a depart
Lessons of friendship, community
Acceptance, family and humility
Still lovingly lingering
Hardships, trials of life
Showing no immunity
Gratitude, compassion, thankfulness
Rising steadily
Remnants of Childhood was written in response to the W3 #164 prompt.
Why Have a Bad Day If You Don’t Have To
Life is a series of learning experiences, events and emotions. In this video message, I talk about choosing to have a good day when you may not be in the best of moods. If you have absolutely no reason to be ill, ask yourself why. This might be a good time to talk to yourself and talk yourself into a better disposition.
Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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Black Music Month 2025
Black Music Month 2025
Music is a universal language. Jazz, rhythm and blues, rap, gospel, house, soul, rock and roll, disco and go-go. Some of these styles of music are a fusion from multiple genres. While some don’t want to admit that, just read the credits and you will discover. Groups that you thought might have been considered a “black” group, have some origins from other cultures.
Nonetheless, June is Black Music Month or African American Appreciation Month. President Jimmy Carter declared it in 1979. However, it wasn’t until 1998 that it was officially acknowledged.
Music has a way of getting a message across in song. Some people use it as a way to express their feelings. A way to release and purge. Music also brings about feelings of happiness. Others use it as a way to promote consciousness or bring awareness to the injustices going on in the world. Music has a way of uniting and bringing people together, no matter where you come from. It is so uplifting to hear the right song and it gets you singing along or dancing.
It amazes me how much music has changed over the years. New styles and artists emerge. Languages change too. Meaning the way artists enunciate in their music, sometimes you can’t understand a word. Some songs sound like the chorus is just on repeat and not many lyrics to it.
The one thing that I noticed is that songs in today’s time are much shorter. Back in my day, songs were an average of 8-12 minutes. Today, songs are averaging less than 5 minutes. To me, that is a snippet! Oh well, what do I know right?! Music can make you dance, cry, sing, smile and so on.
What is your favorite genre of music?
Thank you for reading. Stay well and be blessed! 💕🙏
Tears of Understanding- A poem about judgments and cultivating relationships. Building relationships with people can sometimes be hindered by unfair judgments. We can avoid assumptions about each other by taking the time to have a conversation or simply asking a question.
Please don't misunderstand
what's that you hear
yeah, smothered
tears tears tears
Please don't misunderstand
not being heard, but seen instead
seeing me me me
Please don't misunderstand
seeing me is not my clothes
not my hair
and definitely not my face
nah nah nah
Please understand
my brotha, my sista
Black woman I am
Boricua I am
My complexion mine
your complexion yours
my inflection mine mine mine
your perplexion yours yours yours
Please understand
you will never understand
the whys, I give benefit of doubt
because it was not given to me
Underestimated
Misjudged
Misunderstood
Even hated
Please understand
my silence, my strength
to the underlying slick tongue
the slick tongue that takes jabs at my person
Please understand, no overstand
my shoes you cannot walk in
they were not made for you
your shoes not made for me
Even still, you hold your truth
I hold mine, the same but different
tears tears tears, of not sadness
Tears for you you you
Judgments you hold for me
are really for you you you
Understand?!
Thank you for reading and watching! 🙏
As always, stay well and be blessed💖
Categories
Morning Affirmation
The affirmation for this morning is choose happiness and have a good day.
Yesterday is gone and today is here. Whatever happened yesterday, don’t let it weigh you down today. It was in the past and is now behind you. Now is the time to look up and look at today and ahead. We can choose to be happy. We can choose to have a good day. You decide on the fate of the day you want to have.
Thank you for reading! Stay well and be blessed🙏💞
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Men’s Health Awareness Month
June is Men’s Health Awareness Month
Take a moment to think about where you are in your health journey.
🏥 Medical- Has it been over a year since your check up? Need to schedule a physical? Take time out to schedule that appointment.
Remind men in your family and your friends to get a check up as well.
🍲 Diet- this is a good time to think about the foods you eat. Are there things that you can remove from your diet and substitute for a healthier choice?
⛹🏾 Exercise- are you getting enough? Small steps can be the start of making better choices for longevity and a better quality of life.
❤️🩹 Mental Health- Feeling stressed or overwhelmed? If so, try to remove those stressful things or delegate those overwhelming tasks.
Don’t forget to do something that you like and makes you smile.
As always, thank you for reading. 🙏🏼
Stay well and be blessed! 💕
Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
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Caption The Photo
Caption The Photo
Caption the photo. Can you come up with a caption for this picture?
The photo shows two geese together and 1 of them is on the grass, eating. The other standing by, waiting so patiently.
My caption is below:
Would you hurry up. You just had to come back for seconds, my feet hurt. Let’s go. 😉
Racial Profiling, Why Are You Shadowing Me?
Shopping in peace is all we want to do. Why is it that African Americans and the Hispanic populations get followed around the store? Racial profiling exists and it is time to put these stores on notice. Why Are You Shadowing Me? is a video message about just that. What can we do to stop the discrimination and unfair treatment?
Share your thoughts about this issue.
As always, thank you for watching! 🙏 Stay well and be blessed! 💕
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Try Something New for The Brain
Trying new things does wonders for the brain. It helps us to grow and challenges us to break out of the comfort zone. Adding new skills helps to keep our brain sharp. Also, it can be scary to try something new.
All kinds of thoughts go through your mind. You question,
can I really do this? Why do I even think I can do this? Am I crazy, I can’t do this. Be careful not to talk yourself out of it. If you are thinking about changing your mind about trying something new. Just ask yourself, what is the worst that can happen?
If you succeed, great! If you fail, at least you know and can say that you at least tried. The failure is only when we do not try. Discovering whether or not we can do something is valuable information.
What happens when you learn something new
- A feeling of accomplishment that you were able to do something you thought that you could not
- You gain knowledge that you can use for the future
- It opens new opportunities and sparks new interests
- You can overcome fear and release that doubt in yourself
- It helps our mental health by boosting your brainpower
- Improves self-esteem
Things to try to give your brain that work
- Drive a new way to and/or from work. Change your route so that you don’t have the same route home. If you know where all the potholes are and it is second nature, it numbs the brain right?! It requires no brainpower, where is the fun in that. A new route will require the brain to be more alert, and it will require you to think about where you are going
- Learn a new language. This is fun and your brain will thank you. You get to have new conversations and make new connections. Even if you do not become fluent in a new language you have learned a new skill
- Like to dance? Try to learn a new dance. It makes you smile, it is exercise and improves mood. Join a dance class if there are any in your area. Also, check out the many videos on the internet and try these at home too.
- Try crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles as well. These give the brain practice too. Playing cards is another way to help boost memory.
Conclusion
As you can see, you don’t have to try something that is outrageous or outlandish. Start with something on a small scale then expand it to as big as you want. The important thing is to enjoy yourself and expand your brainpower.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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He Can Take It Away
He Can Take It Away
The video message is about showing humility when blessings come our way. Be humble and grateful for all your blessings. Boasting and bragging is not the way. Just as quickly as God blesses us, he can taketh away. Celebrate and be happy for others the same as you would want them to be happy for you in return.
If this message resonates with you, please share with someone who you think may like the message as well. If it is on your heart, please leave a comment on how this message has changed you in some way or given a new perspective.
Thank you for watching! Stay well and be blessed! 🙏💖
Four Faces of Mother Nature
Fall in line with the leaves on a tree branch
The wind blows them as they do a random dance
Just enough heat and the right amount of cool
Better enjoy it now, maybe take a dip in the pool
The hawk is approaching as winter nears
Cover up the hands, head and the ears
Not much sunlight this time of year
Short days, long nights as the spring appears
Itchy throat, runny nose, watery eyes
The price to pay for warmer months is the demise
Flowers are blooming and the bird's chirp
Just hearing it brings about a smirk
It's time for summer dresses and vacations
New clothes for those far away destinations
Places to make memories, relax and have a ball
Knowing that soon autumn will fall
Four Faces of Mother Nature is written in response to the W3 Prompt #157.
Image by Lucas Wendt from Pixabay
Thank you for reading! 🙏💛
Categories
Believe In Your Ideas
✨ Believe in your ideas. If you do not then who will?
🧡 Ideas come and go. It makes it that more important to act on them.
💬 If an idea comes to you, it is for a reason.
💪 If you can think it, you can do it!
Image credit: Neil Brian on Pixabay
Challenges of Black Maternal Health, Not Being Valued or Understood
Having a child and starting a family is a monumental and happy occasion. Although, it is a happy time for most women, it can also be stressful for some expecting mothers. Ensuring she receives the best possible care for not only herself but also the baby is very important. Black women have faced challenges in this area.
The United States is still seeing a rise in maternal deaths among Black women. Challenges of Black maternal health are increasing due to the changes in laws. Ending of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, abortion bans in certain states, lack of respect, and in some cases racism in medical settings for expecting mothers of color has all contributed to this issue.
Oftentimes, concerns about pain in pregnant Black women are ignored and reduced to the premise that they are just seeking drug medication. Unfortunately, the stereotype that people of color have a high pain tolerance still exists. Women in the past, have and still do exercise their right to assert their choices, as it relates to the birth of their child by using alternate forms of birthing support. Midwives and doulas are options for those families who no longer have faith in the care they receive in medical facilities.
Midwife
What is a midwife and what do they do?
A midwife is a healthcare specialist who is trained in pregnancies, childbirth, newborn care and postpartum health. A midwife has medical training and can deliver babies. They can also prescribe medications. Although, they do not carry out any kind of surgery.
Having a midwife on your side can help in reducing the risk of preterm births. The need for cesarean sections can be lessened if a midwife is a part of your healthcare team. Other benefits include lowered use of anesthesia and rates of labor induction and augmentation.
Different Types of Midwives
- Certified Nurse Midwife-medically trained and licensed. Also, must obtain a Bacher’s degree. The scope of a CNM includes gynecologic exams in addition to the childbirth process.
- Certified Professional Midwife-medical training, including internships and education. Usually providing care in settings other than hospitals.
- Direct Entry Midwife- Provides care without having education in nursing first.
- Lay Midwife- no certification or licensure. Has experience with previous births and self-study.
Doula
What is a doula and what do they do?
A doula provides emotional and educational support. Also, a doula can help position the mother during childbirth to make the delivery more comfortable. A doula is similar to a midwife minus the medical training. However, doula’s do not deliver babies. Midwives do.
A doula can assist in overall maternal satisfaction. By providing emotional support and coaching, it makes the birthing experience less stressful. Doulas may also be called a labor assistant, birth assistant or a labor support specialist. The family can decide just how involved a doula’s role is in the decision-making about the birth.
Benefits of hiring a doula include:
- reduce in the need for a cesarean birth
- shorter labor times
- reduction in anxiety for the mother
- knowledge about the process of labor
- advocate for the family’s needs
Women of color can feel empowered in the type of care they receive by having a midwife or doula during this precious time of life. Most often, the pregnancy and postpartum outcome is a happier one. For those women who want to have their baby at the hospital, as opposed to a birthing center or at home, both midwives and doula’s can be used.
The battle is uphill with restoring hope and trust in receiving medical care for Black women. Hopefully, in the foreseeable future some initiatives will take place to educate and change the direction in a positive way to improve the disparities. During such a crucial, precious and fragile time in a women’s life. She wants to know and feel assured that she can find the comprehensive care and trust that her concerns will be heard and taken seriously.
Image by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay
Thank you for reading! 💖🙏🧡
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Balance My Lunch #4
Balance My Lunch
Featured Lunch
White Rice topped with Ground Turkey
Green Bell Peppers
Hoisin sauce and sweet chili sauce
Plantains
Do you think this meal is complete? Is there something else that can be added? Share and let me know what you think. As always, thank you for reading💞🥰🙏