Thanksgiving was yesterday and I'm enjoying my time w/ my family, good food and relaxation.
This year has been a whirlwind of a year w/ each month bringing some new surprise or development. But, with all of the craziness that 2011 brought, I'm still grateful for a lot of things: (in no particular order)
My niece - She's the cutest, sweetest little thing and I'm going to enjoy being the aunt (slash god mommy) that spoils her and then sends her home to her parents. When she gets older, I'm looking forward to baking w/ her, shopping w/ her and singing songs w/ her in the car. Until then, I'll settle for lots of hugs and kisses and rounds of Itsy Bitsy Spider.
My family - The never cease to love and support each other. It's an awesome example of unconditional love.
A job - In this economy, having a steady paycheck is definitely something to thank God for everyday.
A sense of purpose - I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have a clue about what I was put on this earth to do. And even though I don't know all of The Plan, I'm grateful for what God has revealed to me so far. It helps to guide my decisions and definitely keeps life interesting.
AWESOMAZING friends - It's true that as we get older, we have fewer and fewer close friends. The ones that I have are great! I'm thankful for people are willing to listen, give advice, offer truth, laugh, eat and encourage.
Those are just a few things I'm grateful for this year. And if the last few months are any indication of what's coming, then 2012 is going to be very exciting and there'll be plenty more to be thankful for.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Tis the season...To Watch TV
Recently, I realized how much TV I actually watch right now. The number of shows is pretty shameful. So I won't go there. But, I hope it suffices to say that it's too much and I should be doing other things with my time.
HOWEVER, because I've put in the time, I do feel fairly qualified to recommend some of the new shows that I'm watching. So here goes:
Up All Night - I love Christina Applegate. She and Mya Rudolph together are a treat. It's really funny. Wednesday nights on NBC.
New Girl - Not your average comedy and I think you'll need to be a certain type of person to like this one. But I can't get enough. Zooey Deschanel is this very quirky (okay, weird) girl living w/ 3 men, who love her and can't stand her all at the same time. Most of the humor is in how they all interact w/ each other. Give it a try. Tuesday nights on FOX.
Last Man Standing - Tim Allen is back, y'all. Now he's raising 3 years. He's totally a man's man, working in a pretty male chauvanistic company. But he's surrounded by women at home. I don't think the show has found it's sweet spot completely yet. But it's definitely getting there. Tuesdays on ABC.
That's all for now. If I give you any more, you might start to think that I'm a sad soul who has a flat screen square box as a bff.
HOWEVER, because I've put in the time, I do feel fairly qualified to recommend some of the new shows that I'm watching. So here goes:
Up All Night - I love Christina Applegate. She and Mya Rudolph together are a treat. It's really funny. Wednesday nights on NBC.
New Girl - Not your average comedy and I think you'll need to be a certain type of person to like this one. But I can't get enough. Zooey Deschanel is this very quirky (okay, weird) girl living w/ 3 men, who love her and can't stand her all at the same time. Most of the humor is in how they all interact w/ each other. Give it a try. Tuesday nights on FOX.
Last Man Standing - Tim Allen is back, y'all. Now he's raising 3 years. He's totally a man's man, working in a pretty male chauvanistic company. But he's surrounded by women at home. I don't think the show has found it's sweet spot completely yet. But it's definitely getting there. Tuesdays on ABC.
That's all for now. If I give you any more, you might start to think that I'm a sad soul who has a flat screen square box as a bff.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Tis the Season
Hello November!
The hard part about committing to blog again is that I actually have to update the blog regularly. LOL! Okay. Here we go.
It's the beginning of November and anyone who knows me well knows what I'm getting excited about...Christmas! I LOVE the holiday. I also love the season. The weather gets chilly (off and on in LA), sweaters come out, holiday music begins to play, mugs of hot apple cider get passed around and trees and houses are decorated with sparkly, twinkly lights. And people are friendlier too! Imagine if people actually realized the true meaning for Christmas (i.e. Jesus). It would be downright magical!
To be completely honest, in addition to being excited about celebrating Jesus' birth, I actually think the holiday season is romantic. Imagine you are with the one you love (or are interested in). You're having a great time (as usual). But there's something about the atmosphere that charges the air more than normal. As the 2 of you laugh and talk, you are both illuminated by the light that hundreds of colorful, tiny Christmas lights are giving off. There's holiday music playing in the background - "This is Christmas" (by Plus One)..."Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire"..."The First Noel"..."Oh, Holy Night" (my personal favorite). And, the icing on the cake???? A fire roaring in a fireplace nearby. You can't tell me that's not romantic. If you don't agree, you're dead inside. LOL!
I LOVE the holidays!!!!!! :-)
The hard part about committing to blog again is that I actually have to update the blog regularly. LOL! Okay. Here we go.
It's the beginning of November and anyone who knows me well knows what I'm getting excited about...Christmas! I LOVE the holiday. I also love the season. The weather gets chilly (off and on in LA), sweaters come out, holiday music begins to play, mugs of hot apple cider get passed around and trees and houses are decorated with sparkly, twinkly lights. And people are friendlier too! Imagine if people actually realized the true meaning for Christmas (i.e. Jesus). It would be downright magical!
To be completely honest, in addition to being excited about celebrating Jesus' birth, I actually think the holiday season is romantic. Imagine you are with the one you love (or are interested in). You're having a great time (as usual). But there's something about the atmosphere that charges the air more than normal. As the 2 of you laugh and talk, you are both illuminated by the light that hundreds of colorful, tiny Christmas lights are giving off. There's holiday music playing in the background - "This is Christmas" (by Plus One)..."Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire"..."The First Noel"..."Oh, Holy Night" (my personal favorite). And, the icing on the cake???? A fire roaring in a fireplace nearby. You can't tell me that's not romantic. If you don't agree, you're dead inside. LOL!
I LOVE the holidays!!!!!! :-)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Oh, Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say
"Oh, be careful little mouth what you say..."
I learned a lot of songs in church when I was younger. Man, that one still rings true. Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little mouth what you say. I should have remembered that earlier this week when I whined that this would be the week from hell.
I came into this week knowing that I'd have 2 events at work that I was in charge of on Friday. I knew that I was co-leading GIRL Talk on Friday night. And I knew that I was leading our church's Harvest Festival tomorrow. There was a lot of planning and running around left for the festival and just thinking about it all had me feeling overwhelmed.
"This is going to be the week from hell!" I groaned.
Wanna know what happened next?
I got sick. On Tuesday I started coughing and I've been at it ever since. This ain't no cold. It feels like I felt when I had bronchitis in December. Boo!
Who knows if I would have gotten sick if I hadn't said that. What matters is how I respond. No more whining and complaining for me. God is still on the throne. I'm still His child. He's still taking care of me. Nothing has changed in my life this weekend. I still have to get up early tomorrow and work all day. But I'll have a good attitude. :-)
I learned a lot of songs in church when I was younger. Man, that one still rings true. Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little mouth what you say. I should have remembered that earlier this week when I whined that this would be the week from hell.
I came into this week knowing that I'd have 2 events at work that I was in charge of on Friday. I knew that I was co-leading GIRL Talk on Friday night. And I knew that I was leading our church's Harvest Festival tomorrow. There was a lot of planning and running around left for the festival and just thinking about it all had me feeling overwhelmed.
"This is going to be the week from hell!" I groaned.
Wanna know what happened next?
I got sick. On Tuesday I started coughing and I've been at it ever since. This ain't no cold. It feels like I felt when I had bronchitis in December. Boo!
Who knows if I would have gotten sick if I hadn't said that. What matters is how I respond. No more whining and complaining for me. God is still on the throne. I'm still His child. He's still taking care of me. Nothing has changed in my life this weekend. I still have to get up early tomorrow and work all day. But I'll have a good attitude. :-)
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Getting Back on Track
Ever wonder why smart people do stupid things?
Yesterday I realized that I had made the same mistake that I made 3 years ago. I got excited about a situation that wasn't what I thought it was. I had gotten ahead of myself, ahead of the situation.
I don't get very outwardly excited about much. It's one of the things about me that annoys my friends. I don't show anger or engage in heated arguments. I don't get giddy and jump up and down when I'm excited. People hate that about me. I'm not a fan of it either. Over the last year or so, I've been working on that and showing more enthusiasm when other people share things with me. I never want my friends to feel like I can't celebrate with them. But for my stuff? Ha! I know better than that.
I learned a long time ago not to be too happy about the possibility of something happening. More often than not, it doesn't work out and you're disappointed. Who knows how I learned that. But I did. Somehow that logic spread to things that actually do happen in my life. Something inside me says, "Don't get excited about that, Dionna. It's not going to last." My last long-term relationship, my album, the list goes on. I learned how to not engage emotionally w/ even some of the good things that go on in my life (got really good at it, actually).
So, how did I mess around and get excited about something that hasn't even happened to me yet? Must have let my guard down a little. I don't want to become one of those cynical people who are skeptical about everything. But I will be careful from now on. It's important to watch and observe for awhile before engaging emotionally. It's a very simple rule. I'm not saying anybody else should live like this. But it's how I plan on guarding my heart for the time being.
Yesterday I realized that I had made the same mistake that I made 3 years ago. I got excited about a situation that wasn't what I thought it was. I had gotten ahead of myself, ahead of the situation.
I don't get very outwardly excited about much. It's one of the things about me that annoys my friends. I don't show anger or engage in heated arguments. I don't get giddy and jump up and down when I'm excited. People hate that about me. I'm not a fan of it either. Over the last year or so, I've been working on that and showing more enthusiasm when other people share things with me. I never want my friends to feel like I can't celebrate with them. But for my stuff? Ha! I know better than that.
I learned a long time ago not to be too happy about the possibility of something happening. More often than not, it doesn't work out and you're disappointed. Who knows how I learned that. But I did. Somehow that logic spread to things that actually do happen in my life. Something inside me says, "Don't get excited about that, Dionna. It's not going to last." My last long-term relationship, my album, the list goes on. I learned how to not engage emotionally w/ even some of the good things that go on in my life (got really good at it, actually).
So, how did I mess around and get excited about something that hasn't even happened to me yet? Must have let my guard down a little. I don't want to become one of those cynical people who are skeptical about everything. But I will be careful from now on. It's important to watch and observe for awhile before engaging emotionally. It's a very simple rule. I'm not saying anybody else should live like this. But it's how I plan on guarding my heart for the time being.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Hi !!!!
It's been over a year since my last post. As I read it I thought: "Wow! That was me?" Since then, I've changed a lot in small ways that are hard to point out, but are adding up.
These days, I'm surrounded by the world of Facebook, Twitter and other people's blogs. Doing all of this sharing has inspired me to write again. Uh oh! Look out world! You never know what I'm going to say these days. :-)
Update:
HOME: I'm living by myself now in a 1 bedroom apartment. I SOOOO enjoy the freedom of living on my own. I control the tv, the bills, the food, the mess. But this place is different from my last place. My apartment is on the 2nd floor and the door opens to the elements. So I can step out my front door and be outside overlooking the outdoor courtyard of the building. Because of this, I now have to be more concerned about critters and hot or cold air. Since the "hallway" is outdoor, it's not carpeted, which means you hear everything that goes by. I feel a lot less insulated and a lot more exposed in this place.
But I still enjoy living alone. I've always had roommates, so I wanted to try it out and I enjoy it. It does get lonely sometimes. But my life is busy enough that I can usually avoid that.
MUSIC: Music is still a HUGE part of my life and I'm still singing. But I haven't released my album yet. I feel really stupid about the project taking this long. But it definitely has been a learning process. You can actually purchase 3 of my songs on iTunes - Thirsty, Lord Come In and This is Who I Am. Enjoy!
I'm no longer singing regularly on my church's praise team, though. God moved me to focus on ministry to women and children. So these days I'm exploring what He wants me to do there. I miss singing regularly, though. It broke my heart to leave the team. But I still get to sing at Midweek from time to time
MUSIC I'M CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:
- Mandisa
- Sara Bareilles
These days, I'm surrounded by the world of Facebook, Twitter and other people's blogs. Doing all of this sharing has inspired me to write again. Uh oh! Look out world! You never know what I'm going to say these days. :-)
Update:
HOME: I'm living by myself now in a 1 bedroom apartment. I SOOOO enjoy the freedom of living on my own. I control the tv, the bills, the food, the mess. But this place is different from my last place. My apartment is on the 2nd floor and the door opens to the elements. So I can step out my front door and be outside overlooking the outdoor courtyard of the building. Because of this, I now have to be more concerned about critters and hot or cold air. Since the "hallway" is outdoor, it's not carpeted, which means you hear everything that goes by. I feel a lot less insulated and a lot more exposed in this place.
But I still enjoy living alone. I've always had roommates, so I wanted to try it out and I enjoy it. It does get lonely sometimes. But my life is busy enough that I can usually avoid that.
MUSIC: Music is still a HUGE part of my life and I'm still singing. But I haven't released my album yet. I feel really stupid about the project taking this long. But it definitely has been a learning process. You can actually purchase 3 of my songs on iTunes - Thirsty, Lord Come In and This is Who I Am. Enjoy!
I'm no longer singing regularly on my church's praise team, though. God moved me to focus on ministry to women and children. So these days I'm exploring what He wants me to do there. I miss singing regularly, though. It broke my heart to leave the team. But I still get to sing at Midweek from time to time
MUSIC I'M CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:
- Mandisa
- Sara Bareilles
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Random Thought Spurts
1. Today I got a massage. It was more of an assault than a relaxing experience. I'm actually sore from this massage. That's sad.....I'd be lying if I said I'd give them a second chance and go back because I won't. But my friend was treating me to this massage, so I'm grateful. And it wasn't ALL bad.
2. I'm doing really well with my feelings about the BU. Getting stronger all of the time. God really does heal.
3. I went to a workshop today on networking. It was actually really good. I must admit that I'd always looked down on the whole concept because I equated the word w/ job hungry vultures. But it's really about building relationships for future career progression. Now, I have a lot of work to do to catch up.
4. I sang at a work event a couple of weeks ago. It's funny because I normally only sing for church, so I keep that very separate from my work life. Now, my coworkers know that I sing. I've even given one the link to my other blog. I'm still a little uncomfortable w/ those 2 parts of my life mixing. But I'm interested to see how (or if) God will use that.
5. I'm really for spring to get sprung in LA. It needs to heat up like right now. That's all.
6. Next weekend I'm off to Palm Springs on a vacation w/ my girls from high school. We haven't all seen each other since Arlene's wedding (in 2008)7 and we've NEVER done a trip like this before (although, we've talked about it for years). I'm looking forward to it because I need a break and I miss these girls. But I'm a little worried that it might be awkward because we haven't hung out as a group for so long. I'll blog about how it goes.
7. Tomorrow is Easter. Let's all remember Jesus and His passion for us.
2. I'm doing really well with my feelings about the BU. Getting stronger all of the time. God really does heal.
3. I went to a workshop today on networking. It was actually really good. I must admit that I'd always looked down on the whole concept because I equated the word w/ job hungry vultures. But it's really about building relationships for future career progression. Now, I have a lot of work to do to catch up.
4. I sang at a work event a couple of weeks ago. It's funny because I normally only sing for church, so I keep that very separate from my work life. Now, my coworkers know that I sing. I've even given one the link to my other blog. I'm still a little uncomfortable w/ those 2 parts of my life mixing. But I'm interested to see how (or if) God will use that.
5. I'm really for spring to get sprung in LA. It needs to heat up like right now. That's all.
6. Next weekend I'm off to Palm Springs on a vacation w/ my girls from high school. We haven't all seen each other since Arlene's wedding (in 2008)7 and we've NEVER done a trip like this before (although, we've talked about it for years). I'm looking forward to it because I need a break and I miss these girls. But I'm a little worried that it might be awkward because we haven't hung out as a group for so long. I'll blog about how it goes.
7. Tomorrow is Easter. Let's all remember Jesus and His passion for us.
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