......and then I got an iPhone

It has been a year since my last post. Wow. A whole year.  And what have I done with all that time? You may not have even been wondering that but I'll tell you anyways ;). I finally crawled out from  the rock I'd been stubbornly hiding under and caved to the digital age -yep, I got myself a smartphone. And then, once the novelty of my new toy tamed down to a quiet appreciation, I finally began searching out ways to reignite my old passions for blogging and disconnect myself from the time wasting social media apps that were dulling my brain  and my senses. 

I'm ecstatic about this Blogger app. And as soon as I logged on with my phone and discovered it had been exactly one year to date that I stepped back from the blogging world (to take a much needed breakI) I knew the timing was no mere coincidence. The time had come to pour new life and inspiration I to this tired old blog!

 So to kick things off right, let's get some new pics up here!  Here's a fun (but brief ) look back over my past year ;) 

(Mothers day) 

My furry little lunch date ;)

Homemade samosas

Car trouble lol

Homemade tandoori chicken ;) mmm mmm! 

Kids- Chilling with their uncle

.... And his buddy, both of whom happen to be the band Thirtystreet, who gave us a concert in our living room! awesome ;) 

Tried my hand at cooking Jamaican food ;) so good! Above : beef patties. Below: chicken curry

Our puppy has his first birthday! And celebrated with a little bit of ice cream at our friends fruit stand.(they spoil him even more than we do!)

With his bestest friend, our friends 5 year old daughter - so far the only person with the energy to wear him out ! Haha

Best. Cherry. Ever. 

In the shade!!!!

Creepy bug

Beware of Dog ;) 

And so begins a new year ! I will be starting September as a student, as I am going back to college this year (finally!) and I'm super thrilled to be getting to cross this super important, long-awaited item off the bucket list! 

Here's to a new year of memories, in photo form ;) 

-J

"Ninety-Nine Blog Posts Later" or "I Can't Believe I'm Still Writing ...."

source

Right from the very first blog post I ever wrote, I knew I'd fallen in love with it  - hard. I had finally found a creative little hub of my very own, a quiet little corner of cyberspace that I could stretch out in and give my "dreamer" side a chance to grow a little.  

That was back in November of 2010, a very hard month, year, time for me, and I found sharing my heart amidst my pain with the hope of reaching others who were hurting to encourage them would somehow help to heal not only other's pain but somehow my own as well. Time of course is necessary for healing but I felt truly blessed at the opportunity to encourage others with my words, and I felt the healing process already beginning. The dawn of a new day.

Well, 99 blog posts later I find myself staring at the screen in awe, wondering how on earth so much could have changed in only 2 years? It feels like a lifetime ago, and I think it's because my life now hardly even resembles anything close to what it looked like back then. So many big changes!

The first change was that I began an online course through the New York Institute of Photography, which was a promise I had made to myself and I finally made myself take the time to make this investment. As a single mama who already worked a full time job I had my reservations but I made myself step out and accept the challenge and I'm so glad that I did. While I am still slowly plugging away at it ( life always seems to get in the way, haha) I have to say that the course material and textbooks have proved to be invaluable tools and I have already learned a lot!
The second change being that I met my friends Kendall and Neil. Kendall got hired at my office to do the bookkeeping/accounting and we became friends quickly. When we discovered a shared passion for martial arts ( we both did taekwondo and she was already a 2nd degree black belt)  I offered to help her open her own martial arts school and therein became her business partner and co-owner of our town's very first Taekwondo gym, and corporation Outlast Taekwondo Ltd. (you can check out our  taekwondo blog HERE) . 

However I'm writing this post at 12:34 a.m. and I've nearly fallen asleep 98 times so based on my current narcoleptic progress rate  this blog is already taking too long.  

There have been a great many smaller changes as well, which have all added up and snowballed into these two "hum-dingers" as I like to call them, and all of these combined have made for a significant change in my life. As always, all credit goes to my Lord God and true Savior, without Whom I would be SERIOUSLY lost and undoubtedly headed down a very destructive path.  He saved me from myself, to be sure and brought me instead to a place of healing.
In only 2 short years, my life has radically changed so much. There have been so many ups and downs and twists and turns to get me to this place I'm at now and I thank God for every good thing in it ;)
Thank you for letting me share, thank you for letting me encourage you.  I hope this next year will allow me even more opportunities to encourage and inspire you all. I hope to fill each and every one of your hearts with words of love and plant a seed of hope that will grow strong
love, -J


P.S. Just to leave you with a smile on your face and a sweet dream in your heart ;)