Sweet Dreams

The other day while at a wedding one of my best friends since childhood sent me a text that totally threw me off guard. It really just knocked the breath out of me. I don’t talk about him a lot but it was about my dad.

In her text, she told me how she debated whether to tell me not knowing how it would affect me but decided to anyway. She had this dream where she saw my dad. She said she remember so vividly what he was wearing down to his jeans and tee shirt. She said he was in an office type environment and they were sitting next to each other. My friend told me they shook hands and she proceeded to ask about my mom to which he pointed in the opposite direction from his. She told him she would mention it to me that she saw me to which he simply reply to her, “Just tell her I’m fine”.

Close scene. After that she drew a blank. Crazy how a lot of my close friends have all had similar dreams about my dad. Common part in all of them is he telling them to let me know he is okay. I miss him everyday. Some days even a little more than others. I miss calling out to him and how much effort he would put into teaching me new things. My mom and him while alike were different and I like to think my dad and I had a special father/daughter relationship. One I miss every single day and probably always will. Still, hearing about a dream like that brings a bittersweet feeling.

Rise Up

I read this article “Every Day Can’t Be The Best Day.”at let’s say a very much needed time. It’s been one of those days where I’ve woken up and it’s been bad news, after bad news, after more bad news. You know the whole “when it rains, it pours” – my kinda day today.

Still and not just because it is a new year, I am really trying to hone in on the positive and shed off the negative – even in situations where it tries to take you in. The reason for this? I am not mary f***king sunshine at all but I can’t live life like Debbie Downer either thinking “that’s my luck” or “of course, that happens to me!”. While sometimes things just happens, we also need to own up to our mistakes, all of them. We can’t be above them or get cocky and think “hey it won’t happen to me again” because guess what? That’s when life decides to bite you in the same place it did first time and remind you the reason mistakes happen… is to learn. If we choose not to, it’s inevitable: IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.

That being said I can admit some of my mistakes bit me once or twice for thinking I was invincible or above it. In time I have learn and become a much more humble person. At the same time, it is also about not being so damn hard on yourself. That part is hard. As human beings, it is our nature to sometimes be our worst critics and cheerleaders. Why? Because it is much easier to believe the bad than good. Because bad can be easy and good can be so much harder. Still if we get stuck in that mentality, that is where we will be all of our lives.

I think the past year was in a way a revelation to me. In many ways I learned a lot about myself, my perception of others and of life and most of all how I dealt with some situations. I can tell you a lot of it made me cringe a bit. I let certain situations and people get the best of me and allow the kind of judgment that can be so spiteful. Still it taught me a lot. Because that is what bad situations do, they teach you how to be better and stronger. I learn that while it is important to make others happy, you really need to put yourself first. No one else will. And bottom line: if you are not happy with yourself, then how can you make others happy? That is the truth, baby Ruth. To reach the kind of self-fulfillment we are each looking for, we sometimes have to be selfish. I don’t know if Maslow will agree or not (I personally think he would) but there is nothing wrong with wanting certain dreams and aspirations for yourself. No matter how silly they may seem. And that is just to other people who are not you or simply always look at the glass half empty.

So while I would like to end this blog with some amazing words of encouragement for this upcoming year all I can say is make it about you. Don’t let your mistakes dictate who you are but just be a part of you and move on. Be humble because in this world today there are too many egos and not enough humility. Most of all, focus and invest in yourself. It will attract like minded people who also want to invest in you.

That’s all folks.

The Sheep Failed Me

1… 2 ……

1…. 2…….. 3…..

1…… 2….. 3…… 4……. 5……

I swear it was about thirty minute intervals between each number before being able to get to the next. I just could not bring myself to sleep at all last night, I’ve been a little out of commission the past few days with a cold that has kept me inactive so yesterday when feeling slightly better I got into the whole “mind over matter” mode. Very productive day all the way till night. I thought I was tired and I was but it seems like my brain was not ready to shut down. Talk about million thoughts racing in your head over the most random of things. If they tied me to one of those sleeping machines that can read your thoughts (hmm do they even exist – Google time) the person on the other end would probably have a hard time deciphering them. I guess you can say I welcome the 1st of August with eyes wide open. I felt asleep around 7 am only to wake up at 10 am and BAM! have trouble sleeping again. Then at 12 pm and at this point it’s like screw it. Odd enough I wake up and want to go to the gym. I am just chalking it up to feeling so inactive for so many days that my mind has to catch up to my body. Yup that’s my rationalization and I am sticking to it. Besides I am a recovering insomniac (yes I diagnose myself in the University of “Nathalie’s World”), I am allowed to have one sleepless night every now and then. Talk about an August rush huh?

“I’m for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. ”  

– Frank Sinatra  (one of my all time favorites)

 

Q & A

I recently bought this item from the store – Anthropologie  – I found online only to later realize they have a location in a nearby mall not too far from me. Oh well… hell’s bells. It’s called the Q&A a day . For all those journal enthusiasts like myself, who love to just write a little something everyday, this little book is absolutely perfect. I just got it and already I can’t wait to go back in time and see what mindset I was at the moment… even answering some questions now makes you think a bit – just where you are, where your life is going and where it will actually be within 5 years. Shoot within 1 year.. pretty nice gift idea too!

Q&A Journal

 

Please remember to check out my company website at www.babalugirl.com and help  get more viewers on www.facebook.com/babalu girl … Thanks & follow your dreams!

Lots of  ☮ & ♥ & ツ  

 

DC takes Miami …

No not the capital …. the entertainer.

DC Cruz is an old school friend of mine born and raised in Miami with Dominican roots who has gone beyond writing music to being an all-time performer.  In his initial song Party Freak, DC offered a dance song that reminded me of a modern Eurythmics along with his own Miami flavor coming together to create an electrifying upbeat dance number. In his newest song Te Digo he combines sensual lyrics along with reggeaton-electric pop type beats that bring a very urban feel showing DC is not afraid to explore new and creative sounds.  My friend DC is a reminder that we should always work hard and follow our dreams, life is too short to lack passion and ambition. Best wishes to him on his musical journey !

You can check him out at his YouTube channel DCLive4U  and follow him on Twitter @Donicu  … Good luck DC!

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