Leftovers are not my favorite thing. With a grateful heart, I consume them. This includes frozen foods. I prefer to cook fresh. The COVID pandemic refueled my passions for cooking with variety and spice. As we go into the holidays, we tend to over consume and produce waste. I cringe at the thought of throwing out food. I am blessed to have never experienced hunger but, I am still sensitive to the fact that given any particular set of events I too could be hungry. We have an enormous amount to be grateful for.  Especially the full plate. When we've eaten the amazing meal, what do you do with the left overs? You put them in a pot turn up the heat and let them simmer. Make a soup, or gumbo of sorts. As I was cooking turkey vegetable soup and ham bone pintos this week, I was thinking about how applicable this analogy was to life. Life is delicious. We have so many fresh cooked experiences and opportunities, but what happens after the roller coaster ends? What do we do after the...

In November  2019, I traveled to RIO Brasil. I think it's impossible to leave the country and not have  a life changing experience. This trip was a limit stretching miracle. God spoke to me in RIO, and confirmed some promises to me. I knew I would go there and experience miracles.  Let me share a few with you. A perfect stranger become a friend. The young lady I went to Rio with I met in China 10 months earlier. She was a complete stranger. We had a kindred vibe, and the rest was history. I didn't even know for sure she was going until like 3 weeks before the trip. I was committing to my trip solo, but I'm so glad she came. It could not have been the same with out her. While we were there, we met 3 other women that we stayed in contact with. Life is amazing because we share it with others. I'm grateful for her, and we became forever bonded after this trip. I left my purse in an airport bathroom. When we arrived in Brazil, I used the restroom. 45 minutes later...

One thing that I am truly grateful for is a full plate. It is something most of us take for granted. We do well to remind ourselves often. I created a series of mantras that I Meditate on while doing cardio or mindfulness activities. One of them is this. Everything is great, cause I got a full plate. I am blessed. I am free. I receive. I believe. I give thanks. I give thanks. I give thanks. It's everything about" saying grace"that I enjoy. I say it quickly, but with the deepest reverance. I do enjoy food, like the best of them. More than the food, I love the ability to satisfy. Cooking is a great pleasure of mine. It is one of my love languages. If I love you, I want to cook for you. I give thanks that I can burn! Cleaning up afterwards, is not apart of the deal. 🤣 I do enjoy the dinner table. For about 10 years, I didn't have the space for a full dining room table. There is something very special about being seated face to face and enjoying a meal. I remember mov...

  The Memories   This month is all about gratitude.   My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving!   Thanksgiving is all about showing appreciation for the people and the things in your life. I traditionally write journals entries, and post about the things I’m grateful for each day.   This year, I decided to allow my memories to lead the charge.   Each day google and Facebook remind me of my life.   In those affirmations, posts, and photos are the threads that have created the fabric I am today.   I am always in awe of my journey.   “Who am I that God is mindful of me?”   How fortunate am I that I live this amazing, simple, favored, intentionally blessed life?   There is so much to be flooding tears grateful for. As I look back on the post, I see the words that I spoke in faith.   I see the words that I spoke in fear.   I see the thoughts that propelled me forward through some unbelievable intense mental and emotional tra...

    My dear friends were in town, and we went to dinner at STK in Charlotte.   The restaurant is new here.   I’ve eaten at it before in Disney Springs FL for brunch.   Dinner was an entirely different vibe.   While it was extensively fancy with a matching price tag and valet receipt, I enjoyed all of it.   Everyday cant be filled with   Frim Fram Sauce, but sometimes, you need to put on the Ritz!   I am all about wining and dining.  The fancier and more exclusive the better.  I’m an excellent cook, so I expect the food quality to be good, but I always think, I could do just as good in my own kitchen. 😊 When I go out to eat, I’m looking for WOWzer service and dining experience.  Ever since COVID in 2020 there has been a real shortage in hospitality and tourism staffing, and experiences have lacked luster.  For this reason, and   more, we don’t eat out that often. So when I do go out, I want the Frim Fram Sauc...

I will know I have officially arrived when I can hire a permanently sustained cleaning staff. Until said appointed time, I'll keep falling all the way out with the maid(me) and everyone who assigns that title to me.   I'm not a perfectionist, but I am territorial about my home and spaces. There is so much outside of my space I don't control, or influence. My home is something that is MINE, and should be as I desire. (OR AT LEAST AS I PUT FORTH THE EFFORT TO MAINTAIN) I would appreciate not having opposition. Apparently that isn't possible because I don't live alone.   Here's the thing. I have attached Mommy Dearest Type Anger to cleaning. Like don't talk to me while I'm cleaning. Don't have the nerve to be home and not be cleaning while I'm cleaning. Everything and everybody is wrong until the house is put into order. If I'm cleaning, you're cleaning, or you're gonna get an EAR full.   I've thought to myself over the y...

One day in my late twenties I had an epiphany. My life was complex. My feelings were complex. My spaces were complex. My relationships were complex.  Fast forward 15 years, life can be complex at times, but My life is now SIMPLE. I was walking in my home today thinking how grateful I am about the simplicity in my life at this present moment. My life is so simple right now its frightening. It's been a long road, and I've unloaded alot of baggage along the way. So my traveling is lighter as the days go by. With manifestation and intention, it will lead me higher ground faster. Back then, when life was a horrid burden, it was also a blessing. I'm not sure if I was aware that my life sucked. Until I was.  I was miserable and didn't know it. The hardest part was admitting that all that was my life, I chose it. It is a really difficult concept to accept. We are all "perfect manifestors." We create what we feel the most. (for most people what we fear) Once I ha...

You'd be surprised how the smallest act of kindness can create the biggest ripple for positive change. This past Saturday was make a difference day. My town renovated an entire city block of homes that needed minor exterior improvements. I volunteered as site manager for one of the properties. My property was a duplex. We painted, planted shrubs, replaced fencing, and installed storm doors. All the sidewalks were scraped and pressure washed. There were 200 volunteers that came to help renovate these homes. Our amazing sponsors helped create a fun and rewarding experience for our volunteers. While we finished up some of the projects, I watched member of the community interact with the volunteers in gratitude. They were exchanging stories and talking about past experiences. It was in that moment I realized the biggest reason for making an effort....is you will make a difference in meaningful ways you could not imagine.  Everyday we may not be a super heroe. Some days when we are, we ...