Happiness Tag Challenge

I was challenged by fellow blogger, Tikeetha from https://athomaspointofview.com/2016/08/20/happiness-tag-challenge/ to let everyone know what makes me happy and five songs that make me feel GREAT! Challenge Accepted!

So often as we go through our daily lives and do not reflect on what makes us HAPPY. Thanks tikeethathomas, for allowing me to reflect on what makes me Happy!

 

• My family makes me happy. My family makes me happy. I love when we’re together and able to talk and share our day with each other. I don’t know where I would be if He had not blessed me with them. They are my lifeline. Being a mother and wife is who I am and what I do.
• Chocolate. I love any and everything chocolate, wait, I do not care for dark chocolate. Give me a pack of Reese’s cup, a Mr. Good bar, a Hershey bar, and we are besties.
• Helping others. Being a nurse is my chosen profession and it is what I do. I love helping people. There are times that I wish I could do more but I do what I can.
• Sleep. This is a problem. I work the night shift and so therefore while many of you are sleep, I am wide awake. When I get off, I crash and burn. I do not wake up for several hours. When I am off, I sleep. I sleep, I sleep, I sleep. It makes me happy to get some sleep but it also hinders me.
• Writing. I have loved writing since I could remember. I am at my happiest when I can write to inspire. My imagination was better when I was younger but I have to go back and get in my “happy” place. Maybe if I get the chocolate and some sleep, my imagination will come.

 

 

Five Songs that makes me GREAT!

 

“Rise Up”-Andra Day (LOVE HER VOICE)

“Intentional”-Travis Greene

“Halo”-Beyoncé

“Ambition”-Wale

“Happy”-Pharrell Williams

 

 

So here’s my challenge to you, yeah you, take the time to let us know what makes you happy? If you choose to accept this challenge, be careful, you may inspire someone else.

Love you, beautiful people!

Get you some #BlackGirlMagic

My fellow blogger, sis, who shares her love of words truly has #blackgirlmagic. There are so many of us with #blackgirlmagic.

My Emerald Life

I am absolutely in love with the term Black Girl Magic right now. I love going to Instagram and searching the hashtag to see my women of color loving the melanin they are in. It is so refreshing. So positive. So inspiring.

Julee Wilson, senior fashion editor of the Huffington Post defined Black Girl Magic as the universal aweseomenss of black women. It’s about celebrating anything we deem particularly dope, inspiring or mind-blowing about ourselves

Sure we can attach the Black Girl Magic hashtag to Gabby Douglas or Simone Biles winning medals in Rio at the Olympics. We can say that Beyoncé, Jazmine Sullivan or Chrisette Michelle slays us with their Black Girl Magic. Awesomely Luvvie, my absolute favorite blogger, sprinkles Black Girl Magic with wit and humor. Shonda Rhimes owns Thursday nights with her amazing Black Girl Magic.

But what about the women around you?

The Randae Dodsons…

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But, Before You Say Yes

Love this and it makes plenty of sense. Thanks for sharing.

A Thomas Point of View

I was at the nail salon last month talking to other clients. You know how women do? We meet another client in a beauty salon or nail bar and it’s like we’re old friends. That’s what happened. We started laughing and talking about dating, marriage, relationships and children. One of the women that I met asked me after hearing that I was divorced “Did you like being married?” and “Would you ever do it again?”

I paused. I’ve heard this question asked before. It’s usually beautiful and younger women who’ve yet to meet the man of their dreams wanting to hear some romantic notion of princes and white horses. I smiled and said “Yes, I liked being married and Yes, I would do it again.” She smiled. You could tell that’s what she needed to hear as she navigated the dating jungle.

I laughed. I said, “But, before you say…

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07/30/2016

I just updated some of my GOALS for my blog. It will be a challenge, but it will be one that I know will have success written all over it. I have failed at a few of the goals that I wanted to reach because I have not written anything in a while. So in the mean time, here are some updates.

In April, I had a blogiversary! Congrats to me! One year of doing this periodically!

http://www.queenstoqueens.com

 

BLOGGING GOALS

• I want to share more quality, motivational, and inspiring content with my readers/followers. ( Still a work in progress)
• Focus more on quality dialog and engagement with my followers/readers. (WORK IN PROGRESS)
• NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!!!! (still working on this)
• Reach 500 followers on WordPress by August 2016. (Failed miserably on this one-need 300 more followers)
• Reach 1000 followers on WP by December 31, 2016. (still a work in progress)
• Offer MY experiences and share more about who and why I am “A PERFECTLY FLAWED RUBY!” (what you guys have been waiting for) (WORKING ON IT)
• Set up a publishing schedule. I work at night and it would be in my best interest to do this. 
• Restart my “Friendly Friday’s” segment beginning on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month. (Best to do this one monthly as well) 
• Start “Social Saturdays” monthly. (WORKING ON IT–I am working on most weekends but I will definitely try harder)
• CREATE, CREATE, CREATE!!!!! My blog is more of a journal but I would like to move it to a “lifestyle” blog.  (Ambitious goal)
• Become a “guest blogger” to many of you!  ; ) (I’m still waiting, LOL)

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 

http://www.newyear.quotesms.com/happy-new-year-wishes.html

WOW, we are 4 days into 2016, and it has been steady so far.  I worked on New Year’s Eve and celebrated with my group of coworkers.  It was so quick.

The new year brings about a new beginning,  new opportunities, and a wonderful time to have what your heart desires.

It is the time to begin the business that you have dreamed and envisioned for a while!

It is time to create the life that you have wanted!

It is time to EXCEED their expectations!

This year, I am not creating resolutions, I am creating and focusing on GOALS!  A few of those goals, I posted in  http://aflawedruby2015.com/2015/12/28/put-a-stamp-on-it/.

I have blogging goals and lifestyle goals that I plan to achieve.

I claim this is going to be a GREAT YEAR for all of us! I want to thank all who shared, reblogged, followed,  and read in 2015.

I am looking to be even better with my blog, my followers, sharing, and engaging with each and everyone of you all.  Thanks to all my new followers in 2016.

 

Happy Reading and come back.

Read, share, refer, and reblog in 2016!

Photo credits: http://www.newyear.quotesms.com/happy-new-year-wishes.html (both pictures)

A New Beginning

It was the first day of SCHOOL!  YIPPIE!!! 

http://www.cartoonaday.com

I love my beautiful and wonderful children and I am ready for them to get out that door, get on that big yellow monster, and walk into the newness of their lives.

They will be entering the unknown, like many of us do when we are about to  embark on a new chapter in our lives. 

Zeb is in the 10th grade. I can’t believe that he will be a SENIOR in 2 years, where has the time gone. Ashleigh is in the 6th grade. I am definitely getting older. Jayla is in the 4th grade. Soon I will have an empty nest, definitely not rushing it right now. 

They will meet new people, make new friends, laugh, cry, excel, become disappointed but with this they will LEARN some type of valuable life lesson. Old friends may become lost in the shuffle and you may discover that you don’t need a big circle just a loyal few. 

Here are a few things that I told them about starting the new school year. We can use this in our every day life.

1. Learn everything that you can.
2. Ask  questions.
3. Listen for the answers.
4. Be still.
5. Be silent when needed. 
6. Be Great!
7. Give 120%! 

 

For the fact, I work at night, I missed out on watching them walk out the door this morning. It was bittersweet. I did get the joy of having the house to myself.

Have a great school year!

http://www.parkhillelementary.com

 

 

 

Loving U!

“To thine own self be true”-Shakespeare

It has taken me some years to LOVE who I am, to be the woman that I have come to be! My confidence wasn’t the best, self-esteem at its lowest…I didn’t LOVE MYSELF!

If I didn’t love myself, how could I love someone else? I was looking for love in all the wrong places, things, and people.

I felt like I wasn’t pretty enough, light enough, fine enough, thin enough, smart enough, I just wasn’t enough.  It was hard not being ENOUGH!

I was called all kinds of names as a child and it hurt, by family, by friends, by people who didn’t know me.

“Giraffe”, “anorexic”, “deep voice”, “big lips”, “beer bottle” just to name a few.

 

It was very hurtful and they didn’t seem to care. They didn’t care how it made me feel, all they wanted was a laugh and it came at my expense. I remember being on the bus and someone had put some chicken bones in my hair. I was devastated, but I walked off the bus with my head held high. I cried later that night. I can recall a lot of hurtful and ugly things that have been said to me and about me.

I am almost 40 years old and I still recall those hurtful words. I know that as children we do and say some hurtful stuff to one another and we do not worry about how the person may feel.

I have learned to EMBRACE and LOVE myself! I understand that some people are paying big bucks to have the lips that I got! That “anorexic” part is long gone, now I am PHAT!  My voice is still the same. My neck is like Queen Nefertiti (whose name means “the beautiful one has come”).

I realized that I MUST LOVE MYSELF!

I AM UNIQUE!

I AM GOING TO BE ME!

 

 

Disclaimer:I do not own the rights to these pictures, did a Google Search!

My Black Son Has A Name

In the times that we are living in, we must understand the culture and the climate that we are faced.

A Thomas Point of View

As many of you can probably tell from my previous posts that I immensely love my son Brennan. What mother wouldn’t?  He is my beautiful baby boy. A gift from God and each day I thank God for allowing me to be the vessel to carry and birth him knowing that he belongs to me for only a limited time, but he belongs to God for a lifetime.  But, I have a confession…I’m scared for my son.

Growing up in a post George Zimmerman/Michael Dunn era I fear for my son’s life.  I fear having to tell my loving 5 year old son when he grows up that there are rules he must follow because of the color of his skin.  I have to not only teach him how to read and write, but also how to look for verbal cues and to not respond.  See the color of his…

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Lemonade 🍋 & Infidelity

Check her out!

Divorce With Me

Even Beyoncé is not safe from a cheating spouse.

I’m referring to her new album, Lemonade, in which she refers to infidelity and issues in what we can assume is her marriage. See this article if you want a summary.

I don’t know the whole story and most is just conjecture. It seems that Beyoncé ultimately forgives Jay-Z and opts to stick with him and keep her family together, etc.

But what really got me about this whole thing is just how the Internet exploded with such disdain for the alleged “side chick”, Rachel Roy. Beyonce’s fans went ballistic with the ballsy comment Roy left on her social media account. They left all kinds of nasty comments and emojis showing unity with Queen Bey (🍋🐝).

And although I don’t support the bullying tactics or even dumb comments, it was refreshing to see that people still find it wrong to be…

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A candid moment: My struggle with my self-esteem

Great read.

My Emerald Life

While on Facebook yesterday, a blogger that I follow posted this picture of Lil’ Kim. I had to look at the picture twice because I did not recognize her. At all. This was not the Lil’ Kim I remember from the “Crush” video. I thought this was some photo shop foolishness so I went to her Instagram account and surely, this was Lil Kim.

More than just shocked, I was kind of…well really just shocked. What happened to her? I jumped on Google to find old pictures of her and again…I was just shocked. Well this morning, a friend of mine shared this picture on Facebook with a supposed quote from the rapper

Now I cannot say with certainty that this is a true quote but if it is…this has connected the dots for me. And while I have not done anything this extreme, I know what it’s like to…

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A Grandmother’s/Mother’s Love

There is no love like a grandmother’s love. Grandmothers are GRAND! My mother is an awesome grandmother.  My brother and I have given her 10 grandchildren.

When I was 19, I became a mother. When I returned to college, she raised my daughter. My daughter has lived with my mom ever since.  My mom gave me the opportunity to complete my degree despite the circumstance of being a teen mom. I didn’t graduate from college at that time, but knowing I had such a supportive mother, it was great.

Did I consider getting my child as I grew older? No. Why? I knew she was in a better place. I knew she was with the woman who would show her how to be a young lady. We have had our ups and downs and I think that just maybe, it would have been different, if I would have been a better mother.

My mother has done everything in her power to make sure that her children and grandchildren are taken care of.  I know that we all have stressed her out to the max, she will let us know and then some.

I am grateful for all she has done for me and my family.

She has made so many sacrifices in raising her children and grandchildren. She is my love!

http://www.google.com

Happy Reading and Enjoy!