Bloganuary Day 31

January 31, 2023 ~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

Ahh, day 31. We have finally reached the end of the Bloganuary month-long blogging challenge! I wish I could say it’s been fun, Bloganuary, but truthfully, you’ve worn me down. You’ve overstayed your welcome. I’m throwing you out.

But to show you that I mean no ill will, I’ll answer your final question…

By “near” me, I’m assuming you mean while I’m on vacation, because I rarely pause long enough to watch the sunset at home.

Some places I’ve enjoyed the sunset include the boardwalk of a resort island in the Maldives…

sitting on the pier over the ocean admiring the sunset; orange, peach, and blue sky

…and my stateroom balcony on a Caribbean cruise…

Here’s to 2023 bringing me more vacations and many more sunsets!

Until next Bloganuary…

maybe… 😉

—Nortina

Bloganuary Day 30

January 30, 2023 ~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

Today’s Bloganuary question asks us, “What would you title the chapters of your autobiography?”

Well, first I would have to ask myself why am I writing this autobiography? Because truthfully, I don’t find my life all that interesting.

When I consider the qualifications for who should write an autobiography, I expect the author to be one of the following:

Someone famous
Someone who made a significant contribution to history
Someone who started from nothing (possibly had a traumatic upbringing or came from a troubled background) and completely turned their life around
Someone who has a message to share based on the things they’ve learned in life

I guess I would fall into category 4, and my message would most likely be about accepting the “right” kind of love. I’ve always been a hopeless romantic, and the first thing I ever wrote was a love ballad with my dad. Despite this, I’ve had some soul-crushing heartbreaks. The first one, ironically, coming at the hands of my dad.

However, through these whirlwind romances, I’ve learned so much more about myself: what I will accept and what I will absolutely not tolerate; how to value my self-worth; how to love myself unconditionally so that whenever I realize that a man loves me less, I know he’s not worth my time; how to recognize that I am the prize, not him; and how to accept that no man can ever fill the emptiness in my heart but that the fulfillment I’m so desperately searching for can only be found in Jesus Christ

So with that being said, the chapters of my autobiography may go a little something like this:

Chapter 1 – Daddy’s Little Girl

Chapter 2 – Little Girl Lost

Chapter 3 – All the Boys

Chapter 4 – The Epic “Toxic” Love

Chapter 5 – The Only Thing I Regret

Chapter 6 – Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

Chapter 7 – Trapped

Chapter 8 – Turning to God

Chapter 9 – Minor Relapse

Chapter 10 – Rededicated, Refocused, Restored

Chapter 11 – What Do You Have to Offer Me?

Chapter 12 – The One

That’s it for me tonight, guys! I’ll see you tomorrow for the final day of Bloganuary. I’d be lying if I told you I’m not happy it’s almost over. 😉

—Nortina

Bloganuary Day 29

January 29, 2023 ~ Nortina S. ~ 4 Comments

Today, I learned that another Black man was murdered in the street by police.

I am gobsmacked. I am disgusted. I am enraged. Words cannot properly express the kaleidoscope of emotions I am feeling right now.

When will the violence stop? How many more people have to die before they learn that excessive use of force is not necessary? Why can’t they see that they are not at war with foreign invaders?

These are their own people!

Law enforcement does not equal execution!

I haven’t watched the video. I’ve read enough to know what happened, and still I am in a state of confusion and shock.

I’ve stopped watching the news to protect my mental sanity, and ever since Philando Castile, I have avoided watching videos of police killings, because that one tore me to shreds. I had nightmares—his little girl’s voice trying to calm her wailing mother echoing in my head. I don’t want this to become so commonplace that videos and bodycam footage are released every week like our favorite primetime crime dramas, desensitizing us to the brutality these poor victims suffered.

This isn’t right. I don’t care what wrong he was suspected of doing (and based on reports, those dirty cops lied about that). What happened to innocent until proven guilty? What happened to our constitutional protection from cruel and unusual punishment?

What happened to Tyre Nichols wasn’t just cruel and unusual. It was of the devil: pure evil. And the fact that the officers who committed this crime were Black just proves that the system of policing in America is corrupt at a fundamental level. They are thugs, criminals. They jumped that man like it was a gang initiation.

I hope they are punished to the fullest extent of the law and more, so they know how it feels, because that’s what they deserve.

I have no pity for them. None. Ask God for mercy, because you won’t get it from me. Pigs.

Bloganuary Day 28

January 28, 2023January 28, 2023 ~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries are not in season.
Early Spring still holds Winter's frost.

Every mid-March I crave them 
atop homemade bundt cake,

with whipped cream, lit candles, 
and the "Happy Birthday" song.

Bloganuary Day 27

January 27, 2023January 27, 2023 ~ Nortina S. ~ 1 Comment

It’s kind of ironic that the last few Bloganuary prompts have been questions I’ve already answered, but here we are, at Bloganuary Day 27, and the team at WordPress wants to know: “What are the pros and cons of procrastination?”

First of all, despite it being spelled “procrastination,” there are no pros to procrastination. All I can think of are cons…

A never-ending to-do list
Assignments piling up with little time left to complete them
Missing deadlines
Missing promotions
Dreams unfulfilled
Lack of sleep
An overreactive brain
Burnout
Lost opportunities
Loss of motivation
Perpetuating the cycle of being unreliable…

As an experienced procrastinator, I can assure you that a lot of negatives come with procrastination. These are just my top eleven, but I could go on and on.

But for those of you who insist that there can be “positive” results from procrastinating again and again, I’ve managed to put together a list of “pros”…

Non-progression
Failure to be proactive
Unproductive
Loss of profit
Profuse workload
Increased problems
Proclivity for putting things off
Projects prolonged indefinitely
Probability of finishing tasks lowered
Promises broken
From efficient to prodigal

Got ya, didn’t I?

Truthfully, no matter how you spin it, I don’t believe anything good can ever come out of procrastinating, especially not after I discovered that the Bible calls it a sin. And like any other sin, it feels right in the moment, but you will always, always come to regret it in the end.

That’s my lesson for today. I’ll see you tomorrow for our next Bloganuary prompt, which I hopefully won’t procrastinate in responding to!

We’re all familiar with the cons, but do you agree with my assessment that there are no pros to procrastination? Why or why not?

—Nortina

Bloganuary Day 26

January 26, 2023January 26, 2023 ~ Nortina S. ~ 4 Comments

Welcome back, Bloganuary participants! We are in the final stretch! Just five more days to go before we can finally rest.

However, my lack of sleep has nothing to do with Bloganuary and everything to do with the Australian Open.

I woke up early this morning to watch the women’s semifinal matches. The men play tonight/tomorrow morning, and after that, it’s the women’s final on Saturday morning, followed by the men’s final on Sunday. So I will be drifting in and out of sleep every night for the rest of this week.

But that’s not why you’re here today. You’re here because the folks at WordPress want to know “What language do you wish you could speak?”

Continue reading →

Bloganuary Day 25

January 25, 2023January 25, 2023 ~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

It’s Bloganuary Day 25, and today’s question asks us: “What is a song or poem that speaks to you and why?”

This is an incredibly difficult question to answer, as on any given day, many songs can speak to me, specifically to my mood.

Continue reading →

Bloganuary Day 24

January 24, 2023January 24, 2023 ~ Nortina S. ~ Leave a comment

A Loving Meal: A 100-Word Story

“I cooked you something.”

He stares at me as though I’ve just said I ran over the neighbor’s cat.

“Why do you look so nervous? Have a seat. Relax.”

Doesn’t he know I cook to show my love?

I sit him down in a chair in front of a plate of sweet and spicy chicken.

Although, I also cook to show my anger—a trait I inherited from my mother, whose final meal for my father sent him to the morgue with shards of glass lodged in his throat.

But I’m not that angry, my love. Not today.

“Bon appétit.”