TGIF, if you’re reading this you made it to the end of another week at the office and now it’s time for you!  Time for you to play, rest and relax.  Start by improving your mood with flowers!  With today’s fast paced lifestyles taking its daily toll on our lives, experts advise exercise and other personal lifestyle changes to relieve stress.   The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions.  Flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.  Research shows we have a behavioral and emotional response to flowers.  Flowers have an immediate impact on our happiness, and can impact a long term positive effect on our moods.  Pick up a floral arrangement to help get your weekend mood in motion and enjoy the positive impact they bring to your life.  Cherish the smile the floral arrangement brings to you!  Cheers!

In the day and times we live in, it’s easy to become distracted by the ever present negative news.  We must get back on track in our lives.  We must reconnect with our purpose.  Reconnect with who you are and what’s important through things that give us inspiration, empowerment and we must take the time to soul search.  We must make time to find ourselves, our joy, our peace and happiness.  Take time to get to know the real you!  You are fabulous and there is no one like you, and no one that can do the things you do, the way you do.  When God made you, he only made “one”, you are an original.  Cheers!

The ability to self manage and continue moving forward, despite difficulties, challenges and seemingly impossible situations.  Facing our fears, being brave enough to do something you’ve never done before.  Standing up for you when no one else will.  To change when you know it’s time for a change.  Courage is being afraid but doing it anyway.  Things won’t always be easy but you must be ready and willing to stand behind your decision.  Cheers!

It has been my experience that over the years my circle of acquaintances have gotten smaller and smaller.  I am always amazed that African-American women do not relate to one another as we should, but instead we are envious and hateful towards one another.  We knock each other down instead of build each other up!  I continue to ask myself WHY?  When I see another African-American woman walking towards me or coming off the elevator I am about to enter, more than often she will turn her head away instead of speaking, again I ask WHY?  We should all take a moment to examine ourselves and if we are participating in this type of behavior we need to stop it right away and learn to celebrate our sister and we should embrace the queen in each other.  We should elevate ourselves out of hater range; you know you’re doing something right if you have some haters in your life! 

When we are challenged by others suggestions we should not immediately assume its criticism and get upset.  Sometimes people are sharing things with us to help us and sometimes there not.  It’s up to know to know if someone’s suggestions about our life are accurate & helpful.  I often think about people that don’t have the right people given them advice or keeping it real with them.  These are people that continue to make the same mistakes over and over, year after year, and they sit and wonder why they are where they are!  Obviously, you haven’t listened to anyone.  We should be able to listen and accept what we feel is helpful and dismiss the rest.  Thank the person and move on……………………. Cheers to listening and applying it when and if necessary!

Take a moment to give thanks for at least one thing on today!  Cheers.

It’s Saturday!  We have all more than likely had a long week filled with challenges and things we didn’t anticipate.  If you’re reading this “you made it”.  Take time today to embrace the Queen in you!  Take time today to relaxing & pamper yourself even if it’s the gift of quiet time.   Time for you to “do you”!   You deserve it!  Take a moment to breathe and enjoy a fun & relaxing day!   Cheers to you!

Have you thought about your personal (self) assets lately?  Have you thought about all the awesome qualities you have?  Take a moment and think about how fabulous you really are.  Don’t wait for someone else to tell you all of your strengths know them for yourself and use them to be a better and stronger you! Pat yourself on the back for just being YOU!   Having a clear understanding and exercising your strengths are easy ways to improve your happiness.  Finds ways to challenge yourself to new things, this could lift your spirits and bolster your mood.  Cheers!

Forgiveness, this is a hard one.  Something I think we all struggle with.  However, I have learned over the year’s two wrongs, don’t make it right.  I also know that you reap what you sew.  No matter what the other person is doing, always try to be honest to yourself and never do things out of spite.  Don’t spend countless hours trying to make someone else hurt because they hurt you.  There is a higher power that will take care of them and in due time.  It may not happen when we want it to but it will happen.  Your job is to LET IT GO!  This is something that is so hard for some people.  They can’t stand to see someone else happy because they are so miserable. 

Grudges are dangerous because they prevent us from thinking about and working on all the good stuff in our lives.  Figure out what upsets you about the person and then work towards a solution and then accept them for who they are, and where they are or the situation for what it is and move on, learn to let it go and let a higher power handle it.  Remember your stronger, wiser and you have so many other things to spend your time doing!  LET IT GO…………

Cheers!

Today I am reminded like so many of you of family members who have sacrificed their lives, relationships with family and friends to serve our Country.  Today, I think of my father who passed away on August 1, 2008 he was a veteran and he worked hard in the Seattle community to bring African American Veterans together on a weekly basis for a group to meeting to discuss issues regarding their experiences so that they could have a healthier mind frame.  We should take time today to honor the men & women who give the ultimate sacrifice of “life” for our life & our Country’s freedom.

Today, I want to acknowledge all United States Veterans living or passed.  We celebrate you and your ultimate sacrifice of life.  May God Bless YOU and your families! 

If you know a Veteran take time today to say thank you and send up a prayer for all of our deployed service members.  Cheers!