The Teacher.

Only I, would take on reading the Bible at the most exactly right, logical point of time! 

About a week after I opened the Bible for the second time since I purchased it, I nearly ran over my aunt with my car.  Just kidding, she and I have always done this, “pretend I’m going to hit you, oops, one time I really did hit you, but you survived, just kidding, it wasn’t that serious.”  She was on her way to head over to the RCIA meeting.  She asked if I wanted to tag along, no strings attached.  I gave it some thought, brushed my teeth, and went to the meeting.  

To my extraordinary surprise, the Teacher has given me a renewed affirmation of Jesus Christ.   I can’t quite explain the feeling of when you truly understand the story of Jesus coming to earth, and being here to help us, no matter what.  And He always will be.  

‘Just thought I’d share that with anyone who takes the time to read this blog.  Also, if you have Netflix and an opportunity to watch The Bible, I definitely recommend/highly suggest watching it.  Some of it is Hollywood, but for the most part, I witnessed a perspective of Jesus that I’ve never known.  (Parents, I’d screen it first, it does have a bit of a graphic nature.)

**This concludes the update on my life portion.  

It’s so easy to get bogged down with life thoughts, but just don’t completely lose sight of the greatest Guy that ever walked the earth.  

Who Used My Toilet?

I wake up and shower every single morning.  This hairstyle cannot be recreated every day, unless it’s clean.  It’s a known fact.  Look it up.  

So, whilst showering this morning, I turned to face my glass shower door, and something caught my eye.  

My toilet is in within a straight shot of my shower door, as the crow flies, so I looked in that direction, and I saw it.  

Something had left a turd in my toilet.  I say “something,” because nobody was in my house, and this turd was definitely not human sized.  Imagine a pile of dog poop, shrunken to about 1/10 of the size.  (The proper breed of poop used in this example is somewhere between chihuahua and dachshund.) 

So, the investigator in me quickly went to work trying to figure out what could have left this turd.  I’ve had bees, lizards, a snake, cockroaches in my house,but I’ve never seen turds like this!

There’s another giant piece of this story that everyone needs to realize!  Whatever it was had enough respect to shit in the toilet!!!  I have mad love for anything that sneaks into my home, traipses around, doing God only knows what, and still has enough respect to use the toilet instead of just shitting on the floor! 

After a few seconds of searching, low and behold, I found the culprit.  There was one of those green tree frogs hanging on tightly to the tank of the toilet.  I shook my damn head, grabbed a tissue, and politely escorted him out the back door.  Then, I went back and flushed the toilet.

I don’t know if it was coincidence or just proper pooping etiquette, but it started my Thursday off with a bang.

Moral of the story, everyone poops.  

Wanna know how life works?

I’ll tell you how life works.  I got home from work yesterday with a half a pizza leftover from lunch.  I scarfed one slice down as soon as I got home, because, ya know...why not?  And then I ran outside to catchup with the folks under the reflection oak tree.  

My parents have created this lovely reflection area under the oak tree in the back corner of the yard.  There’s a swing and lots of chairs and even a fire pit.  My dad referred to it as the, “reflection oak tree” tonight, and I can’t help but remember all the conversations that have been had and look forward to having under that oak tree.  

Getting back to the story, the mosquitos were coming out, as usual, so I decided to head inside.  I may have even had a little bit of a skip in my step because I knew there was pizza waiting for me! 

You have to know that pizza is in my top two favorites. 

I hopped up the stairs and into the kitchen, and I opened the box, and let me tell you how life works.  Life works like this:  (these are the things that actually happen in my life, and it’s too crazy to not share with everyone)  I opened the box, and a COCKROACH crawled from on top of the pizza and ran behind my stove. That’s how life works.  

Needless to say, I didn’t have pizza last night, and I’m still somewhat sad about it.  It was from Pizza Hut, handtossed, a mixture of full meat and a few slices of supreme, perfection on sauce and cheese...I would have eaten it all, out of pure gluttony.  #constantreminders

Enjoy these updated photos of my rock garden.  Not quite complete, but getting there.  Because who doesn’t love a rock garden, and less grass to mow.  

Book Club: the Bible

Good evening,

I’ve decided to read the Bible.  A lot people are probably thinking, surely, he’s read the Bible.  

Honestly, I have never actually read the Bible.  

You see, I grew up catholic and that’s not an excuse of any kind, however, when you’re a kid and catholic, in the 90s, you go to mass with your family, then you have catechism on Sunday, and you make some sort of craft in the of Jesus.  In my brain, I never thought of it as much than a weekly chore, so you can see how I’ve never really taken it seriously.  I’ve always had such a skewed view on religion, mostly because they've had such a skewed view on me.

As the generations pass and our society progresses, I’m seeing much more acceptance of differences, rather than the old banishments. 

With this hope, I will begin reading the Bible this evening.  I know it will be a challenge, however, my curiosity is peaked.  

Sidenote:  do not take the absence is of religion, in my life, as absence of faith.  I have a very strong spiritual connection to a higher power or energy.  

What’s life without faith in something?  Empty.  IMO*

*in my opinion

The Correlation between Baby Boomers and Millenial Mysery

Who wants to talk about the role that baby boomers play on the lives that millineals are *trying* to live? 

I don’t care if you’re interested in the idea or not, the theory directly affects you in some way, form, or fashion.  Whether you realize it or not, you are being influenced, mostly negatively, by the behavior of aging, health declining baby boomers.   

They’re beginning to fall apart, and unfortunately, the world hasn’t been 100% lovely and “dreams come true” and amazing times.  They’ve had to endure rough work conditions, social radicals of the equality movements, and the ups and downs of a volatile stock market affecting everyone across the board.  They must be exhausted, but they end up slowly burdening millenials’ lives.  Those Gen Xers got a small taste of what that was like, however, their parents didn’t get quite as bad off until they were closer to death.  

This is just in my experience, and I’m not an expert on the matter, however, I think all readers can see a connection between baby boomers getting weaker and breaking down quicker(joints replaced, more prone to cancer, etc).  Through this breakdown process, they are still trying to continue to work in convenient jobs that keep a constant cash flow.  However, they may not be a perfect fit for that job anymore. They need their paycheck because the world is so expensive that they have to continue to work in order to afford life.  

Here’s the problem.  There aren’t enough baby boomers retiring out of the jobs that most millennials are honing in on.  Many millennials are literally stuck at mid level paying jobs because they can’t move up.  The ladder stops at the baby boomer.  The baby boomers will work until they die.  I’ve seen it happen, and I’m sure it’s probably happening to you, if you seriously think about it.  

Millennials were promised dreams that could truly come true.  Millennials could do anything they put their minds to, and anything was possible.   In theory, that’s a lovely idea, and whomever originally created that lie should be ashamed.  Anything isn’t possible.  They just wanted us to get out of their hair.  I wonder if they realized that their kids would one day be trying to survive with the constant anticipation that their baby boomer boss would give up their seat to allow a promotion to happen.  In reality, the millenials are in too much fear of missing the opportunity to grow, so they stay in the mid level position, living a mediocre life, and trying not to be miserable.  

The fact is, we’re inheriting their mess.  They’re trying to hold onto this idea that they know better, and the sad part is they can’t even see how much has changed in the last 20 years, and how much it has affected them.  

[I want to go off on a wild tangent about “driving” “taste in fashion” “technology” “racial distinctions”, but I don’t have time or your attention span for that long.]

In closing, millennials are experiencing some major miserable moments, but mostly in part to baby boomers. Who raised you? 

Sunday Morning = Easy

I’ve been busy.  

1st thing about settling into adulthood:  I still haven’t grown up.  I’ve just become a little more in-tune with my surroundings, and my intuition allows me to read situations to keep me out of harm’s way, most of the time.  

That’s not to say that I’m living a completely safe life, I just take healthy risks now, instead of all risks.  To be able to fully experience life, it’s essential to take chances.  Living by the rules or playing it safe based on someone else’s experience will always deliver the same outcome, but if you leave it up to chance, a custom result is delivered. 

Case in point, my new home.  I have gotten overwhelmingly positive feedback on my new home, and it feels amazing!  I’m the polar opposite of traditional, so when I have a style idea, it tends to stray from the cultural norm.

My brain works in constant conundrums.  I see a problem or a need, and I run through scenarios until I settle on the most logical or the most effective solution.  This works wonders in my business life, and it’s pretty commonly accepted.  My personal life can be a bit more confusing.  

As humans, rarely do we know exactly what we want.  Even when we do settle on something, a piece of furniture, a car, clothing style, it’s short lived.  Imagine that feeling you get when you need to make a decision, only amplify times 300, and there you’ll find my life.

To help you better understand where I’m coming from, I need to explain a few things.  I am a self proclaimed observer.  I see and listen to literally everything around me.  I need to break that down; I’m referring to things that interest me or pull enough energy to catch my attention.  The world is a fascinating place as it happens around me.  I tend to sit back and watch it all happen.  Most things 100% happen in a pattern or a certain cycle.  It almost becomes predictable.  

Story:  I was sitting under the oaks at my parents’ home. They had some friends over with their children.  I’ve become more open to children, mostly because they do things differently, so it allows me to observe their responses to the world around them.  I hope that doesn’t make me sound weird, but I just try to learn something from everything.  This daughter character was carrying around dogs. She tried to put one on my lap, and my mother said, “no, he only likes Slinky.”  It’s not that I don’t like the other dogs, it’s just that if I’m going to hold a dog, I’d prefer it to be Slinky. Remember predicability?  The daughter grabbed Slinky and brought her to sit on my lap.  Children are basically 100% predictable.  

Adults are, too.  Think about the last time you realized you had done something wrong...who’d you try to blame?  If you say yourself, thank you for being honest.  If you’ve never thought about it, here’s the time to have an awe inspiring revelation:  humans have been conditioned to blame someone else for their problems.  It’s almost as though we need to hold something or someone else responsible for our mistakes to make us feel better about knowing that we aren’t perfect.  “If I’m not perfect, then I need to prove that others aren’t perfect, also, to keep the playing field level.”

The playing field will never be level.  The sheer fact that you’re trying to blame someone else for your mistake ensures the field will never be level.  Own your mistakes.  In most cases, if you can admit to the guilt, it’s easier to fix, and you can learn a true lesson from making the mistake.  

I find that very few things in life happen by chance.  You must literally put in the positive energy to receive a positive outcome, which brings me back to my point at hand.  I’ve given up on negative energy.  

Every single thing I do is from a positive vantage point.  If I cannot find positivity in a solution, then it is no longer an option.  Based on this new positive logic, I’ve built my very own amazing positively charged space on this earth.  I knew home ownership would be a new journey for me, but I never could have imagined that it would be so healthy for me.

Work is stressful, I’ll admit, but I know I’m doing positive things, and I’m helping a lot of people.  When I get home to my private positivity sactuary, nothing negative can touch me.  This is mine.  

My challenge to anyone who reads this is to find your positivity sanctuary.  It doesn’t have to be as elaborate as mine, I had the opportunity to design my entire home around a positive forcefield, but it could be as simple as a bowl of rocks that reminds you of how the earth originally began:  A pile of matter that gave way to the opportunity for our planet to sustain life and allow us to have the privileges we own today.  

Don’t ever forget that we are merely a spec in the grand timeline of life and everything that surrounds us.  Make sure you are making a positive impact, instead of a negative one.  Negativity only creates suffering.  Do you want to be responsible for that? 

Here’s something pretty, though.  😁

Meet Slinky. 👆🏼

Moral:  Just do your part.  Play your role.  Be kind and make good choices.  Take responsibly for your actions and decisions.  

-Blessins. 

2 Piece and a Biscuit

Hi, my name is Tyler Theriot, and I’m on a really cool journey.  Many of you have probably seen my photo posts that involved the physical manifestation of some of my ideas. I just want everyone to know that I’m truly blown away by many of my own visions that I have been able to actually bring to life, using supplies that haven’t been incredibly difficult to secure.

These are wonderful representations of the journey that I’m on, however, it’s much more of a metaphysical understanding journey.  

It has been exactly two years, down to the week, since my life was dramatically changed. I thought I had life all the way figured out.  Through all the trials and tribulations and a lot of bad dates, I thought I had figured out the perfect situation for myself and was ready to live life to the fullest.  I learned, through a series of unfortunate events, that I knew nothing about life or what I was supposed to be doing with it.  That’s the setup.  I don’t need to go into detail, but I will begin this next section with my strategy to clear the dense fog from my life.   

I am a huge proponent of counseling.  Here’s a tip I learned about life, you can’t do it alone.  You can try, but there is always someone that is a specialist on certain things that will require you to depend on them.  So, if you are experiencing something in your life that is bigger than you, and you cannot make heads or tales of it, why not get a second opinion?   I sat through a series of sessions that primarily consisted of me sitting across from a psychologist and I shared my thoughts with her.  I’m scatterbrained most of the time, however, I suffer from anxiety, so when a specific thought strikes a nerve in me, I fixate on it until I find a different situation that is even more thought provoking as a replacement.  When I stepped onto this roller coaster, I had no idea how invigorating it would be to speak to someone that could offer educated advice and points of view and insight that would ultimately get me to now.  

I moved out of my apartment.  I was month to month renting a great apartment, with the intent that if the rent ever went up, I would move out.  Lo and behold, my rent went up.  Granted, it was only $50 a month, but it was principle.  I knew what I had to do.  

I decided to get an estimate to build a shouse, or a barndomieum, the metal building houses.  I had my reservations right off the bat, because I knew cellular signal would be an issue, and that’s something I’d hated to have to deal with living in that metal building behind my parents house.  The estimate wasn’t too expensive, it was just the idea of building.  I’m pretty intune with the real estate business, and I’ve had plenty of friends that have built recently, so I had a good idea of how overwhelming that was going to be.  I’ll say this, I have a lot of patience, I work in a management role in the financial services industry, for Christ’s sake!  But I would literally die if I had to go through some of the nightmares they had.  My heart would stop beating, that would just be the end. I could never intentionally put myself through that, no matter the reward in the end.  So, I went a different route.  

My parents had always said that they would be okay with me building, putting a house on a chunk of their acreage.  So, I made the financially responsible, hippy lifestyle living decision to order a manufactured home. I made sure I checked all the specs to insure that I would own a well made, showstopper home, within reason, of course.  

I wanted character.  I wanted to get home from work, and not regret the whole experience.  I wanted to own my dream home, on a strict budget.  I wanted to live cheaply, not frugally, cheaply.  The roof over my head should never cost me $1000, and that’s considered cheaper rent in this thriving metropolis.  I needed to pay less for my living expenses so that I could free up income for travel to truly experience the world.  I literally cut my living expenses in half! (That reminds me of that part in Bridesmaids when she’s talking about breaking the blanket in half after her sons jizzed all over it, but I digress.)

It took a few months for my home to arrive, but I planned enough time to move out of my apartment and into my parents space before my home arrived.  I should have known, but the delivery date was pushed back a bit, so, I had to live in extremely close quarters until the house came in. 

It finally arrived.  You’d think I’d be overjoyed, right?  Everything that could go wrong did! Broken pipes, accidentally cut pipes, delays, delays due to human error, like my phone number being given incorrectly to all of the technicians that were supposed to be installing my air conditioning, skirting, washer and dryer, and meanwhile, I’m trying not to lose my shit on my family because they were just closest in proximity to catch the hell.

Have you ever had a month of bad days, where literally every. single. day had some sort of bad news?!  I did, literally every day there would be more issues which resulted in me dishing out more money. Luckily, I had planned ahead.  I cannot believe just how expensive it is to have a home.  I never expected all of the expenses that came my way.  

Through all of the issues, arose the most amazing home!  It’s basically complete inside, and the outside is on its way to completion.  I just need to finish landscaping and add some snazzy outdoor space, and it feels AMAZING!  I love posting pictures of my house because I’m in love with it.  I made such an amazing decision with my life to simplify and reevaluate what I need over what I thought I wanted.  

During the whole home ownership transition, I had issues.  My mind was unsettled.  The serious questions often passed through my mind:  Is this what I truly want?  Is this what I need for my life?  And the fundamental answer stayed the same:  You need a roof over your head, a space to call your own, and this is the most financially sound decision to stay on the tract of having a truly happy life.  

I stopped thinking of the world as my limited options, and realized that I truly can do anything, within reason.  I harnessed the power of my own energy, positive and negative, and neutral in between.  I was spread so thinly, that I had put other people’s happiness and consideration before I own.  I didn’t even know how to make myself happy because I was too busy guaranteeing that my friends, families, enemies were all happy, instead of myself.  I couldn’t pinpoint when I began prioritizing everyone else over myself, but I knew it had to stop.  It’s not easy to cut yourself off from people that you’ve shown can greatly depend on you, but I had to.  I felt empty.  I needed my energy back to start to feel again.  

I realized that I was putting my energy into things that didn’t benefit me at all.  I discovered  that I was giving energy to people that didn’t deserve it.  All the bullies in my early life, I held onto a fear that they instilled in me.  Those people are just simple humans just like me.  Nothing they did to me back then killed me, so why did I still give them a great deal of negative, sabotaging energy.  

I took it back.  

I took back all of the energy that was being wasted on nonsense, and I transformed it into positive energy.  I thought of ways that I could impact the world more than trying to force a square into a circle hole.  So many of the things I had failed at were because I shouldn’t have been doing them in the first place.

Here was the changing factor for me:  when I was growing up, I was taught a lot of rules of life.  I was taught right from wrong, responsibility, how to be a gentleman, and to honor my parents wishes, until I was old enough to be off on my own.  Unfortunately, those rules weren’t enforceable on my free spirited soul.  I’ve never quite followed the beat to which the rest of the world listens.  I think.  I think a lot.  About things that matter and things that don’t.  I grew up in a society that shamed people for sharing their unusual thoughts, including conversations regarding emotions.  

“Life is hard, and you can’t let it get to you,” always seemed to be the easy way to get me and the rest of my generation to keep our mouths shut about our feelings.  I was conditioned to believe that no one wants to hear me complain about being sad or unhappy. Everyone has their own problems, and mine were no greater, but I still always wanted to share my ideas.  I talk a lot about the ideas in my head because I would hate to know that an idea I may have, is missed or wasted, considering it may contain some insight that could truly help someone else in need.  

I have grown very close to philosophy, because I fit the description of what philosophers are.  I both consciously and subconsciously think deeply about life, pondering what is the most effective way for humans to continue to thrive.  Through this deep thought, comes a few negative revelations, however.  It’s depressing in how many different ways we are ruining the planet earth.  I don’t understand how our civilization got so far off track.  We are ruining the earth, yet we do very little to try to correct the damage.  We’d rather get the latest iPhone or drive the fanciest new car than consider how much pollution is entering the air we breath or the water we drink.  I’m guilty of it, as well, however, I think about the consequences.  I think we’ve gotten to a point as a society that we have lost sight of the fact that we are limited to what is on the earth.  Once it’s used up, then what?  But I digress again, just some food for thought.  

The curveball life through me, I caught.  Every day is a new enlightening experience, and I can honestly say that at this point in my life, I am happy to wake up.  I may not be happy with the goings on in the world, but that’s not my problem.  I only have this tiny spec of a lifetime on this giant grapefruit, so I’m going to do everything possible to leave a mark.  Don’t you want people to remember you, or would you rather be forgotten, like those poor sad old people that either die alone at home, or locked away in a nursing home because no one has time for them?  I’m going to squeeze as much into my story as possible.

Now, I'm mad.

I just found this article online, and I’m upset because of some of the revelations it contains. 

https://wholenewmom.com/reaching-out/could-you-go-to-jail-for-drinking-raw-milk-and-what-is-raw-milk-anyway/

Specifically, this excerpt. 

For many many many years, I’ve been devastatelingly lactose intolerant.  I’ve always thought my options were completely limited by it.  I am seriously curious about if unpasteurized milk would kill me from the inside out or not.  I’d probably be able to tolerate listeria over those cramps that feel like hooks are attached to my inner abdomen and are constantly being snagged toward my backbone.  

But, I can’t.  Because apparently the government believes that unpasteurized milk is sooooo dangerous that it is outlawed. LOL 

Shouldn’t unpasteurized raw milk be “drink at your own risk,” instead of “drink and go to jail?” 

There may be a bigger issue here, also.  Another article clearly describes health benefits from raw unpasteurized milk:

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/211715

Specifically: 

Is there something going on here? 

You tell me...

Feel the Vibration.

Lake Charles, Louisiana.  Currently my home, and the site of massive economic growth. This growth brings definite change to the landscape of the city, but where does that leave the Lake Charles vibe? 

According to chooselakecharles.com, the largest industries in the area are Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Agribusiness, Health Care, Maritime, and Sustainable and Traditional Energy.  These different highly prospering fields have the potential to bring to this area new cultures, religions, points of view, and the opportunity to enhance our own local culture. 

Lake Charles is experiencing the most unpredictable and unprecedented explosion of cultural growth.  So much so, that we actually have the opportunity to “put ourselves out there,” if you will.  

Our local artists are creating street exhibits downtown to promote their talents, some of which would definitely surprise many locals.  Shoutout moment:  my good judies, Morgan and Danny Allain, along with Daneisha Davis-Harger, are always hustling to get their art on the map.  Look them up.  Now.  Do it! 

Wouldn’t you feel as though you contributed way more to the success of a local artist, if you had a piece of their art hanging on your wall as a reminder?  

I have at least one piece from each of these artists, and I love the idea that I was able to meet and interact with the artist, instead of some no name piece of reproduced art from Kirkland’s or Hobby Lobby.  Not to say that those aren’t great/pretty works of art, but what’s the meaning behind it?  Who’s making the money on that piece, the artist, or the store?  But, I digress. 

Lake Charles offers a lot of local musical talents, as well, however, the simple fact is that we may not have enough local opportunities, or paying gigs, for local artists.  

The Lake Charles Civic Center once hosted some of the largest musical tours.  This venue now has the opportunity to show off its capacity to host big names, again.  

With the local casinos hosting performances inside their smaller stage settings, the Civic Center could really offer for a much grander experience.  This could always open up opportunities for local bands or performers to showcase their talents beforehand.  Musical performers are notorious for showcasing local talent on their nationwide tours.  Lake Charles musicians should be able to get the same promotion. 

New religions are also organizing in this area, which I think is so great.  Lake Charles is drawing people from across the globe to enhance the economic growth.  

All this growth does have its drawbacks, but our new mayor, Nic Hunter, has a plan.  Starting with infrastructure, he has major proposals to make Lake Charles greater!  

With the addition of new cultures, religions, and artists, Lake Charles has such a huge opportunity to make the best name possible for itself.  Do we want to just be known as the “economic boom” city?  

What if the “Lake Charles vibe” became our true claim to fame.  Invest a bit of time and energy into researching events in Lake Charles and actually become active in the community.  There are some amazing local organizations that raise money for worthy causes, share local talents, and bring people together. 

Lake Charles deserves to have a good vibe, so let’s put the work into creating the best vibe, possible.  Support your community.  Cliche, but it’s only as good as you make it.  

New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and even our own New Orleans aren’t great for no reason.  People want to go there and explore.  Lets focus on making our community a great one, and for all you folks not from here, come visit.  You may like it more than you think.  

Lake Charles has a very open vibe, currently.  We are aware that we are growing much faster than anticipated, so at this time, we may be more open that ever in the history of the city.  Traffic may back up a little at quitting time, but slow down and realize why all of these things are happening.  More people are working, so more people should be expected on the roads. It’s all a sign of our city becoming greater.  I always think of my friends in Houston that live 15 minutes from work, as the crow flies, but it takes them two hours to get there by car.  It could be worse, that’s all I’m saying.  

New stores and restaurants are popping up, which means companies are interested in investing in Lake Charles.  We need to realize this potential, and make sure that we focus on the good that it is bringing to the community.  Support the change. Try the new restaurant. Shop at the new store, and try to find something you like, even if it’s incredibly difficult. 

So, on a final note, let’s use this New Year, 2018, as an appropriate starting point to create a great vibe for Lake Charles, LA.  If your not into it, get into it, or take your salty attitude elsewhere.  

Also, take this as a challenge to make the entire world a better place.  You have two options when you wake in the morning, to be positive or to be negative.  Remind yourself all day of your choice.  It can really help you make you a happier person.  😘

I got fat...selfie game ended!

In order to have a fully successful and realized life, I have to occasionally evaluate how I’m living.  As I’ve stated many times before, livin’ ain’t easy.  Once again, something flipped the switch on the evaluator in my brain. 

On Saturday, December 16, 2017, I decided it was time to just sort of thumb through what’s been going on in my life lately and see if anything needed any improvements or removal.  

I quickly ran to social media because that’s where me and most other people in my life spend at least 35-85% of our time.  There it was.  Plain as day.  

I wasn’t portraying myself truthfully on social media.  I had gotten so good at perfecting the angle of the shot for all of my “selfies,” that I literally had created a picture image of how I wanted to look.  An image that is not too far from the way I really look, but when you’re using the front facing camera, you can create or hide anything you want.  As opposed to the rear facing camera, where I’m at the full mercy of the photographer. Every characteristic and every single flaw are visible.  I ended my selfie game at that point.  It’s over. 

I realized that I have to live my true identity to love my true identity.

I don’t want this turn into a soap box forum for people who take lots of selfies, but guys, it’s not really cool.  I’m now realizing that it’s actually quite lame.

I remember before cell phones even had cameras.  Remember what we did back then?  We took pictures with cameras and had to hope that they developed well, or you could just forget that memory.  

I even remember my first cell phone that had a camera and how fun it was to take pictures of things, not MYSELF!  I’ll admit it, and some of you will probably laugh, but I was almost addicted to posting selfies.  The rush of getting the perfect angle, getting the right lighting, making sure my hair, eyebrows, teeth were all spot on, to capture the perfect image of the person I wanted people to see. 

It turns out that I get more likes on the pictures taken by someone else, than the ones that were taken by me of me.  So, I can’t even say that I did it for the attention, I just have a really competitive nature, and I found something that I was really good at.  I didn’t realize how much of a fool it made me look like, though.  Lol 😂

I’m so glad that’s over, and I’m pretty sure a lot of other people are, also.  

I talked to a friend of mine the other day that was bashing people that take a lot of selfies.  I kept thinking, “I post selfies, but do I post a lot of them? What’s considered a lot? And who’s opinion?”  You see where this is going...

When I went to my Facebook and Instagram feeds, and saw just how many selfies I had posted, I literally laughed and said, “omg, this is so stupid!” 😂 I also saw how much weight I’ve gained.  I look alright when I’m standing, but pooyaii, don’t let me catch anyone posting a picture of me sitting. 😂😂😂 I just need to do some crunches, and all will be back to normal.  (I hate working out though, so I’ll just eat less and let me body naturally eat itself down a few pounds.)

Why did I ever think that the world just wanted to see my face posted on an internet webpage?! 

In the end, I caught myself before it turned nasty and ugly, but I totally get it now.  All those people on What Not to Wear and those makeover shows, they just kept living life, until one day, you wake up and you forgot to evaluate your life for problems.  It’s never too late.  

Random inspirational thought for the evening:  you and I were given these lives.  It may be cliche, but it’s up to us to make them great.  I plan to never stop trying to be great, and I’ll support anyone willing to keep working on it.  

I was joking with some ladies at work today, and said, omg, no one would ever want to be me.  And one lady said, “I’d love to have your constant positive, upbeat energy everyday.”  (She obviously hasn’t seen me when it’s my time of the month.)  

I always wake up with choices.  I have the option to be happy/positive or grumpy/negative.  I’ve always said, it takes a lot more work for me to be grumpy than it does for me to be happy.  

Optimism is both burden and a curse.  True optimism takes over your entire thought process.  I always take into consideration the positive and the negative.  Very seldom will I accept a negative situation without trying, in some way or fashion, to positively improve upon it.  It’s tough sometimes to be met with constant negativity, but everyone ultimately wants to be positive.  They just need a little inspiration. 

One last thought for the evening:  I have a lot of truly great friends and coworkers.  We take the time to get to know one another and build those really great bonds.  We also are there to raise up one another when we’re down.  If you don’t have people to raise you up, then find some.  

I firmly believe that we are not meant to hold ourselves up alone.  Allow others to help you up from time to time.  It’s worth it, because the strength you borrow can be passed on to someone else who needs it more than you.  And don’t forget the gifts you possess. Share them.  If you keep the important gifts to yourself, you may forget about them and ultimately lose those precious gifts.  What a waste. 

I did some makeup on my friend Ashley, and she made me write it all down like we used to do at the makeup counters. 😂 So enjoy this:

Gender Reveal!

I absolutely know so many of you read that headline and are so nosy that you just couldn’t help yourself but to read this and potentially find out some juicy gossip. 

I’m sorry to disappoint, but I’m not pregnant. But, I am ready to reveal that my life will be changing soon.  

I purchased my first home! And it’s so perfectly particularly wonderful for me!!  If any of you know me on a personal level, then you will know that I’m scared shitless of change.  I’m a Taurus and we get into grooves, and we don’t really like when those grooves are disturbed.  You can say that zodiacs are silly, but if I wrote my personality traits, they are 100% in line with the Taurus description.  (Shrugs) 

I’ve lived in my current apartment for two and a half years, and it’s been great, however, the rental and housing market in Lake Charles, LA is, for lack of a better word, overpriced.  Considering the quality, or lack there of, of the construction of most of the new developments here, apartments and houses are not worth the price tag.  

I considered building a home, however land is also overpriced.  I even got a bid on building a metal building home, or a shed house, but it didn’t feel right.  

So, in the end, I went with a manufactured home!  It’s built to my specifications, and it has all the creature comforts of a site built home, except SOOOOO much cheaper!  Like, astronomically less than my current rent, which is $300-$400 cheaper than the average price of a luxury apartment in Lake Charles, LA. 

I am having it special ordered, and it will be completed soon.  But the reason I bring up this update in my life is because with my dad’s help today, we verified that the existing sewer system is fully functional!  This was a massive concern of mine, because I was not prepared to pay to replace that system.  

We had a couple of little hiccups with the motor at first , but in the end, the system works beautifully, well, as beautiful as churning turds can be. 

I’m very proud of the decision I made, and I’d like to explain my reasoning.  I have a great job, and I will be receiving a promotion soon.  I guess I’ll let the cat out of the bag.  

Since this summer, I, along with the input from my senior managers, have been building a new department at work.  I will be the Call Center Manager for my company, as of the first quarter of 2018.  

I love a challenge, and building a call Center was certainly that.  All the research, conference calls, interviewing, policy and procedure writing has been tough, but I thrive so well in that project manager setting.  I love building presentations, stating my intentions and explaining the benefits, and following through to success.  

We got board approval, and so this is really happening!  I’m ready!  I believe my company  does truly great things.  This call center will help up provide top notch member support, give us an opportunity to build lasting relationships, and we be able to maintain our positive reputation in the community. 

So, as you can tell, I’m going to be thrown completely out of my comfort zone, but my boss has faith in me and the shit tank works.  😂

Here’s a little sample of my new home, a digital version, of course.  My landscaping will look way better than theirs!!!  And I’ll have something better off that side door. 👌🏼

Does Facial Skin Ever Stink?

• Perfumes included in your moisturizer and/or your makeup. 

• Sunscreen. 

• Facial hair. 

• Dried sweat. 

• Cow shit that’s been slung on you during a cattle drive down the ridges in Johnson Bayou. 

These are all things that may add a scent to the skin of your face, but alone, does your facial skin ever stink?   

If you workout a lot, your arm pits may stink.  If you’re a runner, you may have problems with foot odor.  If you’re unhygienic, then you may stink in other places, i.e. you’re nether regends, etc. etc.  But does your face ever stink?  

Is there ever a time where you’ve made out with someone and thought, “man, this dude/chick’s face smells awful!”  I never have, so I’m wondering if it’s a thing or not.  Or, have you ever kissed your grandma on the cheek and thought, “ugh, it’s always so gross to kiss grandma because her skin stinks!?!”  That’s so scary.

What a turn off it would be to have to distance yourself from someone, not because of bad breath, but because of bad face!!! 

I sure hope no one is having to deal with this right now.  There are far worse things going on in the world for us to have to worry about someone’s face stinking!!! 

Leave your comments below. Haha 😂