Before I get started and you continue reading, please be advised I am NOT a medical or mental health professional, nor am I giving any advice. I will share the knowledge I gained through hours of careful research because I wanted to share factual information regarding this essential subject. Since 1949, the United States has acknowledged May as Mental Health Awareness Month. Unfortunately, there is a negative stigma surrounding mental health, and people may feel uncomfortable talking about it for fear of judgment and ridicule. While we should always recognize the courage and resilience of th ..read more

Happy Tuesday! Monday is history now, but I hope your week began in the best way. I had a follow-up appointment with the pain doctor yesterday afternoon, and just as I expected, everything went as it always does. The Nurse Practitioner was running close to an hour behind schedule, and traffic was a mess, but I had my notebook and was writing while waiting. I was still a little frustrated but did expect to have to wait. I do not understand why doctors have patients scheduled appointments because they rarely follow the schedule and typically have people waiting for far too long. I guess it is w ..read more

Grief can be haunting and inescapable because the memories of those who we lost are unstoppable. It has been two and a half months since losing Sundance and four years and two months since we lost Chloe. No matter how long it has been, I can remember the final moments of the lives of these two sweet and lovable cats. Of course, losing a loved one causes so much heartache, but many do not understand the level of pain losing a pet that you love dearly causes. If I could have traded places with either of these cats, I would have without questioning my decision. I wanted so desperately to donate ..read more

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful week and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I am unsure if it has been the same where you live, but Mother Nature cannot decide what season it is. Springtime temperatures can fluctuate, but this is getting out of control and slightly obnoxious. It seems on one day, the temperature is on the cooler side, but the next day is way too hot and more like summertime weather, which should not happen for a few more months. For reasons I am unsure of, I have been battling with headaches and severe leg and foot pain for a while now, and it ..read more

Happy Friday Eve! I hope you are having a great week and that things are going well. I am a little less than one month away from beginning my class so that I can become a certified medical coder. I have been looking forward to this class and being able to get certified since I completed the basic class for medical coding, and even though I do not have much longer to wait, it feels like a long time to wait. I aimed to find a job and balance my class and a job, but I am starting to think my husband might be right. He wanted me to have the time needed to focus on my classes without add ..read more

When life goes sideways from what we had planned and expected, we can feel disappointed and discouraged, but that does not mean we should give up and accept defeat. During our lifetime, there will be many times we are discouraged and find it challenging to discover inspiration. Our inspirations do not always stem from others and can come from inside ourselves. I realize when nothing appears to be going in the right direction, seeing inspiration inside can be extremely difficult and nearly impossible, but it is still there. Finding inspiration, courage, and positivity might take a little extra ..read more

Good day, and welcome to the beginning of a new week! Our views of Monday set the tone for the entire week, so we must try not to oppose Monday because it will never change and will return. Our views of Monday are simply a matter of perspective, and we should try to embrace it. Each day, including Monday, is just another day in our journey in life. Even though it was short, we had an opportunity to enjoy a weekend, and hopefully, you could take advantage of each day! My post on Mondays used to be “Motivational Monday”, and can be viewed similarly, but there is a slight change. I want to help ..read more

Anyone who has read my blogs knows I have a strong love for animals, finding it easy to communicate and form bonds with them. I have mentioned several times I started feeding a couple of what appear to be feral outside cats a few months ago. During the first few days, only two cats were noticed on the front porch, so naturally, I began talking to and feeding them. To my surprise, it seems like the cat is out of the bag, pun intended, and currently, there are between six and eight kitty visitors who come for a good meal at least twice a day. Word has spread quickly through the neighborhood kit ..read more

Happy Friday Eve! I hope your week is going well and you have not encountered anything that discouraged you because you deserve better than that. I understand life can feel overly complicated, but no matter what happens, you can overcome anything and succeed with what you want. None of the struggles you experienced during this week will end, and you will move forward to better things. It might not seem that way right now because you might still be struggling with the emotional after-effects, but please remember nothing lasts forever. Although in the challenging moment of your struggle, it see ..read more

Happy Wednesday and making it halfway through another week! How has your week been so far? It seems to have been a crazy week. I mentioned Monday was the beginning of the former president of the United States criminal trial, and I am sure even though something should come out of it, the trial will amount to nothing. I am not sure why I am surprised anyone in powerful positions can get away with doing illegal things, but I do not foresee any changes. Monday was also the final day to complete taxes in the United States, and it was another miserable and stressful experience, but it is a yearly i ..read more