Category Archives: Stay Safe

Continued Gun Violence

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We are only 25 days into 2023 and as of yesterday, there have already been 39 mass shootings in the United States that have caused 70 innocent people to lose their lives. These tragedies do NOT occur in any other developed country because other countries have found a way to prevent unnecessary gun violence. These continued acts of hatred do not make any sense to me, and I have many questions that I am not sure anyone can answer. The first question is why can the United States not find a rational solution and end gun violence? How many more people will need to die before changes will be made? The 2nd Amendment was written in 1791, but did they mean they thought everyone should carry a weapon? I think we need to face the fact; the 2nd Amendment needs to be updated so that the mass population stops misinterpreting it.

As I have already stated, the 2nd Amendment was written in 1791 and reads, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Right in the first sentence, Militia is a military force that is raised from the civil population, to supplement a regular army in an emergency. What does this mean to you? To me, this should mean guns are for our military to use in an emergency, such as war, and or to defend our country. With that said, guns must be regulated better and more efficiently. Anytime I have tried talking to other Americans about control, they try to hold on tight to what they think the 2nd Amendment means, but I do not think they read it and understood it correctly!

I do not think that guns belong on the streets or in homes because they are unsafe when people are not trained. A couple of weeks ago, a 6-year-old child brought a gun to school with him and shot his 1st-grade teacher. This was not a mass shooting, but it did cause harm to an innocent teacher and that child should have never had access to it or even known where it was in the home. The devastation of gun violence upsets me deeply and the fact we already had so many mass shootings early in the year, scares me to see what the remainder of the year will hold. Changes with gun policies have needed to change for a long time and I only hope the change will happen sooner rather than later.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I know many people will not agree with me on this topic, but I do still look forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as possible. I hope you are having a good week and you are staying safe. We have made it through the first part of the week, so hopefully, the last part of the week will be easy and go well. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Sunday Thoughts

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Happy Sunday, y’all! I hope you are having a good and relaxing weekend! Can you believe that we only have two weeks left in 2022? It is amazing how quickly time goes by and how much we endure each week. Sometimes, it is hard to believe what we have survived and witnessed because some things are so incredibly unbelievable. No matter what tragic events we have dealt with, it is crucial to remember that each experience is another lesson that is going to help us become better. We need to not think of hard times as a punishment because none of them are, they each continue making us stronger and more resilient.

The past several years have been complicated, to say the least, but what have we learned over the past few years? We have seen so much violence, which “should” have taught us to be kinder and more understanding. But, honestly, has it? I ask this because violence and hatred continue to ravage the world daily. Why do people feel so much hatred? Why can we all not get along and be nice to one another? Is this something we are taught by watching the news, which has made hatred seem normal and okay?

As we approach the holidays, we need to keep a few things in mind. One is, we still need to be practicing safety protocols because COVID is still around. For anyone that is not vaccinated, it is well past time to get vaccinated. Being vaccinated against COVID can be a matter of life and death for ourselves and our families. The other thing we need to remember is, Christmas is NOT a time for receiving gifts, but it is a time to share the love with those around us and be better at practicing kindness and never forgetting what the Golden Rule means!

New Year is only two weeks away, so now is the time to recall the past year and think about what changes we want to make for the next year. Are there new things we want to learn or things we were taught years ago that we want to put back into play? Do we want to make a difference in the world and if so, what difference needs to be made? Do we want to make changes in our day-to-day lives, and if so, what changes do we want to make? I am not asking you to share this now, but I am asking you to put thought into this!

The weekend is nearing its end and I hope you had a nice weekend. Did you do anything special over the weekend? Are you looking forward to the week ahead of us and are you ready for it? We do still have several hours left of the weekend, so I would encourage you to make the best of it. The important things we always need to remember are what we are going to do this next week which is something we will be proud of!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you have enjoyed what I have shared, and it gave you things to think about. I am looking forward to reading your comments and I will be responding as quickly as possible. I am going to continue to try staying on a schedule with my posts, which gets harder once the work week begins, but I am going to try. Please remember that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes! 

Always, Alyssa

Let It Go Friday

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We have finally made it through this week and I am so glad the weekend has nearly arrived! It has without a doubt been a long week and there was a lot of rain towards the end of the week. There are various reasons that I am thankful to not live in Florida, but they were, unfortunately, hit with another massive hurricane and I am sure they were still picking up the pieces of the last hurricane they experienced. We are far enough from the coast where we live to not be in too much danger, but we are dealing with heavy rain and high winds which can and have caused problems previously.

After a long week, most of us have dealt with some frustrations and I think we should use Friday as a day to let go of all the negativity. There is no use in bringing the negative issues from the week into the very short weekend because we need time to enjoy life! Tuesday was the midterm elections in the United States. Of course, politics is always a HOT topic because everyone has an opinion that they think is correct. My husband and I did vote, but of course, we live in a state that always elects those we disagree with. We have watched some of the outcomes from the election and personally I am embarrassed for the people that were either re-elected or elected into office because they are a disgrace. This has caused me to feel slightly negative emotions, but I am trying to let it go and forget about it because, besides to vote, there is nothing I can do to change things with the system. 

Do you have any plans for the weekend? One thing I know for sure is, I am not working this weekend, so I do not have to get up super early! I have a few ideas of things I want to write about and some posts that I should finish over the weekend. That is my plan at least, but things can always happen and change the plans. What I will say is I am so happy that it is Friday because I have been waiting for it since Monday morning. It is a little sad that I have waited for Friday the entire week and now that it has arrived it will fly by super fast and before I can blink an eye, I will be back to looking forward to the weekend!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed this post and you have a wonderful day! I am looking forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. Whatever you do this weekend, please stay as safe as you possibly can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Sunday thoughts

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Full disclosure and I am sorry in advance. I know I am mentioned the following statement multiple times over the years, but it still stands to be true, and I feel is worth repeating. Although life can be complicated and exhausting at times, life is short. No matter what we go through or how overwhelmed we feel, we should never give up and must do what brings us the most joy. We do not need to explain ourselves to anyone because this is our life. Other people may not agree with how we live our life or any of the decisions we make, but no one needs to understand why we made certain decisions. As long as we are not causing harm to anyone else, it should not matter how we are living our lives. 

Over the past several years and the first days of knowing what COVID was, and the damning effects it inflicted, many have been stressed and scared. These feelings are normal because COVID has killed so many. I am sure everyone has heard another strain that is more contagious making its way through the world. The new strain BA.5 has caused illness in people that have been vaccinated and boosted, which has been upsetting. However, we all must keep our vaccinations current because, without them, the chances of survival decrease significantly. It does seem as though anytime we think we have seen the last of COVID, something new appears.

I do understand that many people were hesitant about the COVID vaccine when we were first introduced to it, and many refused to get the vaccine because it was so new. We are all entitled to our opinions, but if we look at how many unvaccinated people have died when they got COVID to the number of vaccinated people that had a breakthrough infection and survived, it seems like an easy and logical decision. Scientists have stated that those who get the newest strain of COVID that are vaccinated have experienced less severe symptoms and heal faster than those who are unvaccinated. Recently, a friend of mine got sick with COVID. She has an underlying condition and was double vaccinated and had the booster, she has made a full recovery but might not have if she was not vaccinated. I think the decision to be vaccinated or not is a gamble with our lives and I am not a gambler!

Another issue everyone around the world is experiencing is the unbearable heat! Yesterday I had to go out to do a few things, which I normally do not have to do. The heat was so awful that walking from my front door to the truck caused more dizziness and irritation. Do you wonder why the heat is so out of control? Is there any doubt that global warming is real? The healthiest people in the world cannot tolerate this heat, so for anyone who battles with health issues, it can feel like their life is being sucked out of them. Extreme temperatures have always caused me additional problems with my Multiple Sclerosis, but the extreme heat is making things 100 times more intense. I told my husband yesterday that I am not leaving the house during the day anymore until at least November. I did look ahead at what the weather was going to be like next week and it looks as though more miserable days with heat are coming!

What are some of the most important things in your life? Do you think anyone should have to explain why they love who they love? Does it seem like there is too much hatred filling this world? I am unable to understand hate and I do not think I ever will understand it because, in my opinion, we are all human and deserve to be treated fairly and with compassion. We will never know what someone else is going through in life unless we try. Sometimes a person will have an unpleasant attitude because they are struggling with something in their life, but it is possible they just need someone to understand and offer them love. Do you ever think that being kind to another person might have a HUGE impact on their life and make a difference? I do without a doubt!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you are having a good weekend and staying safe. I am looking forward to reading your comments and hope that you have enjoyed this post. I will respond to all comments as quickly as I can. It is a little sad the weekend is becoming to an end soon and we will be getting ready for another long week, but if we view each week as an opportunity, it might make it a little easier😊! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Finally Friday!

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Happy Friday, y’all! I hope you had a great week and you are looking forward to the weekend. This week has felt super long which included good, bad, and awful days. I already explained how things went on Monday with my doctor’s appointment and how incredibly rude they were to force me to reschedule when I was three minutes from their office. Yes, I am still a little sour about this because gas prices are insane and the traffic on the interstate is miserable, which they are fully aware of. Besides my frustrations with the doctor’s office, people have been ridiculously demanding and rude. I do not understand it, but I guess they never learned that you get more flies with honey than vinegar😊!

As we end this week, we need to not hold onto anything negative that occurred during the week. Something I have learned is, that we need to not dwell on things we cannot change and anything we have no control over we need to let go and move on. Why overthink something we have no control over and cannot change? I would like to share a quote with y’all today that I found interesting and incredibly true. No matter how many bad things may happen in life, many good things can unfold from the challenges and experiences we endure. We should always keep our eyes wide open and be accepting because this will help us deal with everything with dignity and grace!

Most of us are fully vaccinated, which is great, but we still need to be cautious. Many that have been fully vaccinated with two vaccines and a booster are becoming ill because of a new COVID strain. The good news is those that who are fully vaccinated are not getting gravely ill but still may get sick. The vaccines do not last a lifetime and unfortunately, we may need to continue getting vaccines to stay safe. As y’all know, I have a weak immune system, so my husband and I are going this weekend to get the 2nd booster. Honestly, I am not excited about this because the 1st booster had me sick for the entire weekend, but I would rather be sick for a few days than lose my life.

Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you enjoyed what I have shared with you and I look forward to reading your comments. I will respond to all of your comments as quickly as I can. I hope you have a wonderful day and an incredible, and safe weekend! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Pick-Me-Up-Thursday

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Happy Friday eve y’all! How has your week been? This has been an interesting week. Monday had a mixture of good and awful things happen. My day started earlier than normal because of the doctor’s appointment I was “supposed” to have that was rescheduled because I was a few minutes late. Seriously, the nerve of the Nurse Practitioner to force me to reschedule when after I had driven an hour and a half, and was three minutes away, especially when I am NEVER late and she always has me wait no less than 20 minutes. Yes, I am still a little infuriated about this!

Monday ended on a positive side because I was able to watch my mother get married via Zoom to a man that makes her extremely happy and I think is a good man! Although I was not able to be at her wedding in person, they made it possible to have me present and able to watch their special day! They had a beautiful ceremony and I think will live happily ever after! I even tried to convince her husband to smash the cake in her face, although I knew she would not have appreciated it but still thought it would have been hilarious.

Do you have any plans for the weekend? My husband and I are going to get our second COVID booster as our last one was too long ago and there is another new strain of COVID out that from what scientists say is the most contagious. This is terrifying to me because we have made it through all these years without getting COVID.

We have almost made it through the week and have the weekend to look forward to! There is only one day left until we get to enjoy the short weekend, but this is the time to let go of anything negative that occurred this week. I do not plan on letting go of my anger toward the Nurse Practitioner yet, but everything else negative that happened this week I will! I am hoping the quote I am sharing with y’all today will be a reminder to look forward to the positive things in everything that happens daily! We all experience struggles throughout our lives and often these struggles happen every week, but the truth is there are always good things that happen as well!

Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you have enjoyed this post and appreciated the meaning of the quote I shared. I am looking forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as I can. I hope you have a wonder day and please remember to always treat others with kindness as we never know what someone is going through in life. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positives vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Can you tell me why?

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People throughout the United States enjoy celebrating the 4th of July. There are parades, fireworks, cookouts, and more that people “should” be able to enjoy. Why was this such an issue over the long weekend everyone was looking forward to? Why can people not enjoy life without fears of mass shootings? Why do some people not leave their homes because they worry about what could happen in society? Why is it so difficult for people to practice kindness and compassion for others, instead of the sick need to shoot innocent people? Why is there so much hatred filling the world? Why can all the people in one country not get along?

The questions I have asked are what evade my mind constantly. There are NO answers that will make sense to me because I feel the need to treat everyone equally. Yes, this might be something that makes me different from many other Americans and that is why I prefer to NEVER be like everyone else. When we desire to get along just to get along and not stand up for our beliefs, it does not ever fix anything! I would like to suggest you listen to this song and please tell me how it makes you feel!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc

When I was growing up, I was taught that the United States is a “free” and “welcoming” country, but this is far from the truth! No one is completely free, especially women as they no longer have control over what happens to their bodies. If everyone is not uniform, behaving, looking, believing, and speaking alike, they are too different and must be stopped. Why else would so many innocent people trying to enjoy the long weekend, going out to dinner, a movie, the grocery store, or anywhere else not in their homes be shot and killed?

For years now, my husband and I have stayed home safely. We never wanted to get COVID, especially due to my weak immune system, and we have been successful. We do not want to go out to dinner to celebrate or have a date night and not make it home because of the insanity in the country, again, we have been successful. I understand how short life is, but we do not want it to be made shorter because of something we have no control over. I know it seems like we are trying to live in a bubble, and this might be true, but there needs to be a massive change in the United States.

Have you ever wondered what other countries think when they see what is going on in this country? I do not have to wonder because I am told by people, I work with that live in Canada. They see the news here in the United States and shake their heads in utter disbelief as to how it could be true. The mass shootings, lies within our government, taking away a woman’s rights to her body, hatred filling our streets, and much more that should never happen! NO country is perfect, but most other countries do not have the damage as the United States does.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I know there are going to be many people that disagree with everything I have said and that is okay because you have a right to your opinion. I would love to read your comments and I will respect whatever you have to stay. I hope your long weekend has been safe and relaxing! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Friday before a long weekend!

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A Friday before a three-day weekend is the best kind of Friday. I appreciate all Fridays, but I am thankful to get a long weekend. I am not doing anything special during the long weekend, which makes me even happier😊! The only things I plan to do is NOT get up too early, not have to work my normal job, and clean my house! This might not sound exciting to anyone else, but this is exactly what I need. The past few weeks have been exhausting and frustrating, which explains why I am emotionally and physically drained.

I wish someone could explain to me in a way that makes sense why there are so many judgmental and angry people in the United States. I do not understand why people enjoy tearing someone down by insulting them or finding other ways to make another human being feel they are insignificant. This type of behavior will never make sense to me because I have always tried to be kind, understanding, and considerate of other’s feelings. I feel we are here in this world together and should try making it a better place, instead of what is happening now.

I know my views are different than a lot of other people, especially in the south where I live, but I have always felt that we should all be treated equally and with kindness. I have never thought someone should be judged based on the color of their skin, where they are from, who they worship or love, or anything else, and that people should only be judged based on how they treat others. Who cares what the color of their skin is or where they are from? Who cares who they love, as long as they display love and not hate? Who cares who someone worships if that is what they choose to do? The only thing that matters is the way we treat other people!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you have had a wonderful week and are looking forward to enjoying a long and safe weekend! Do you have anything planned for the long weekend? If you do have something planned, please stay safe! I am looking forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Let It Go Friday

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Congratulations y’all, we survived another week! How was your week? The weeks can feel long, draining, and exhausting so I am ready for the weekend. This was my first week back working after being unemployed for three months and I am glad that I am working, but I am worn out. I knew my last job very well because I had been in that industry for six years and I know I will learn this new job and be good at it as well. Good things take time and patience, which I lack patience, and am trying to learn that as well😊!

Friday is a good day to let go of anything negative that occurred during the week, so we can enjoy the short weekend ahead. We have to deal with the stress from the week for five LONG days and only have two short days to relax and do what makes us happy. We should never hold onto things from the week that brings us down or make us feel sad. I hope the quote I am sharing with y’all today will help you learn to let things go and be free from the negative things in life. I think we would all be surprised to see how freeing it is to let go of what brings us down and causes negative emotions.

Now that the weekend is almost here, do you have any plans? I am sure you will not be surprised to know that I do not have anything exciting planned. I want to go through my closet and decide what to donate. I also plan to go through the house to see if there is anything not in use that can be donated. I guess I think if it is not in use and has not been for a while, we are not using it and someone else might benefit from it. I also want to clean the house because I think it looks like a mess. Of course, I will also not be getting up to an alarm clock and hopefully, I will be able to sleep in a little. Another thing I have to do is let my back heal because I lifted something a little too heavy the other day and it has been hurting worse than normal since.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and the quote helps you let go of any negative feelings caused by the past week. Anything that you do have planned for the weekend, I hope it brings you a lot of joy and you do so safely. I look forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

The Power of Writing

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Writing can be an incredibly powerful way to express our emotions and help us come to terms with any given situation. It is a personal and silent way to overcome challenges and emotional pain. We can be inspired by reading the works of others and learning from the way they compose and arrange their thoughts. Viewing and trying to understand the processes of writers, whether they are well-known successful authors or someone who has a love and passion for writing can be thought-provoking and fascinating. Reading what others write seems like a window into their minds and experiences.

The amount of famous and struggling authors is endless, most of which are extremely talented, and others may take a while to catch our attention. We have certain things we enjoy reading and become captivated by the abilities and styles of different authors. Each person that writes has a unique way to put their thoughts together, which is what can make this so intriguing to discover.

Some writers create magnificent masterpieces from their personal experiences, and some come from an incredibly strong and vivid imagination. Are these talents embedded into people from birth or does it come from a supernatural encounter? I understand it takes time, hard work, dedication, and determination, but the talents some authors possess are beyond words phenomenal.

Which authors do you find yourself drawn to and view as the most engaging? I have three authors that I view as the most appealing and they all have different styles. These authors are James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, and Kelly Rimmer. Out of these three authors, Nicholas Sparks and Kelly Rimmer are more emotional and write from their heart, which can bring someone to tears with their words. Although I do enjoy books from all three of them, James Patterson is the one I am most drawn to because his books keep me on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down because I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Are there authors you find inspiring and would have a desire to meet someday? Personally, I view James Patterson’s abilities as the most inspiring and would love the chance to meet him and learn how he creates his amazing novels. His series “The Women’s Murder Club” is brilliant. There are currently 22 books in this series, which several years ago I read the first four in about one month. I was unable to put the book down because they were so gripping and riveting. I was slightly obsessed with the books, so there were many times I would read more while I was working, but we will not tell my former manager about that😊!

If I was able to meet and speak with James Patterson it would be a dream come true. The way his mind works is an outstanding gift that no matter how hard I try cannot comprehend. Of course, I can understand he is one of a kind and there will never be another like him. Hopefully, someday this dream will come to fruition, and I can gain some knowledge from this clever author.

Some books are easy to listen to, but others are so engrossing you need to read them so that you do not miss anything. I found that I am unable to listen to any of James Patterson’s books. Maybe it has something to do with the voice of the narrator, but I think there must be a deeper reason that I cannot explain.

I have mentioned in a previous post that my late grandfather wrote for his local paper. As I have said before, he was an amazing man and like myself, he loved to write. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to read much of what he wrote, but I do hope someday I will be able to. Without reading a word of what he wrote, I know it was brilliant and a great read. I am sure he wrote a lot about golf because he was a golf pro and even though I would not understand what he was saying about golf, I still hope to read anything he wrote. I do wonder if somehow, I got my love for writing from my amazing grandfather!

I am interested to know what types of books you enjoy reading and which authors pull you into their magical web. Do you have any blogs that inspire you and which ones do so? Authors do not have to be well-known and famous because I believe anyone that writes is an author in their own way. I have read that many authors also write in a journal, which I assume is a way to connect with their emotions without having anyone read it. I am sure many bloggers also journal as well to write about things they do not want to share, which makes a lot of sense to me. There are several things I will journal about and never blog about because they are issues, I am not comfortable sharing.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have written, and I hope you will leave a comment. It will be interesting to know what you enjoy reading and what authors inspire you. I hope your weekend is starting well and the rest of the weekend is wonderful. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa