VernetteOutLoud

7 for SEVEN

September has always been a roller coaster for me. I always see it as the hump before the slide to the end of the year. It usually marks the beginning of a new school year and the sucky part is all these years later, that still has some importance for me….because mature student!

To say I am in a funk is putting it mildly. This roller coaster September has been mostly down and twisty and I keep thinking I need to get off this ride, I need to get off this ride! But then I also think that it has to end soon anyway, so I might as well just suck it up.

And this my dear reader is the reason for 7 for Seven. It is the reminder, that even in the crappiest of months, you can always find seven things to be grateful for.

…every Monday, we post seven positives from the previous seven days of the week as a reminder of what we have so that the week starts out on an upswing. There is much truth in the belief that happy people attract good things, so it is important to start the week out right. Sometimes it’s the more grand, but other times, it’s the simple things.~Key + Arrow

7 for Seven originated at Key + Arrow and now let’s get into my 7 for this week:

Saying ‘YES’ to the Universe. Mercury in retrograde? Messed up communication? Shit hitting the fan? Yes. Yes. Yes. Bring it Universe. I take the good with the bad and say Yes! This is my life. I can work with it, I can work through it.

Catching up on The Walking Dead. You guys, sometimes your potential is to binge watch three whole seasons of one your favourite show in one sitting. I kid you not. It was an epic couple days of zombies, blood, gore and crazy one-liners thanks to my new favorite character Abraham. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’d know that I love everything zombie. And I have been planning my zombie apocalypse survival strategy for a long time just in case… anyways I’m caught up and ready for season 7.

Surviving another week. Remember when I shared about how things just kept going downhill but the week ended and things started to settle down? Yea…no that didn’t happen. So here I am being grateful for surviving another week and trying not to jinx it.

My cohort of Awesome. A dear friend messaged me asking how I was and what’s happening with the blog. She said she missed reading my posts. I said I was just super busy and just couldn’t find the time. We caught a bit with each other and that was that. But the conversation stuck with me and she is the reason that this post was written and published today. Thank you, Carolyn.

Discovering a coffee roaster near me. On Saturday I got lost trying to find the pop-up coffee sampler at a coffee shop in a magical land far far away called Charlieville – okay that’s not true, the directions they put on Facebook was incorrect and I wasn’t the only person who got lost trying to find the coffee shop and Charlieville isn’t that far – 25 minutes driving without traffic. But I got lost in an unfamiliar place so I gave up trying to find the coffee shop…obviously. I eventually got on to the roaster who was doing the samples of his coffee. It turns out, he lives and roasts in my neighbourhood. Score for me! So *fingers crossed* next week’s 7 will be all about the delicious Ethiopian blend that I had the privilege to brew.

Getting better at my latte art. I’m still practicing and I’m happy to report that I am getting better. You can follow my progress on Instagram. This is the reason I’ve been running low on coffee beans and this is why the discovery of a coffee roaster near me was so fortuitous.

And finally, I am grateful to my newest earworm  James Bay – Let it go. I love the music…I love the words. I especially love the opening bars…gets me every time.  What are you listening to? Let me know in the comments below. I love discovering new music.  

I hope that by continuing to pay attention to the little things, the mundane details that make up all the blessings in my life and by sowing the seeds of faith and gratitude, I can truly carry with me and reap the rewards of “positivity + balance + bliss” throughout the days ahead.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire. Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? Feel free to share below!

7 for SEVEN

It’s the last Monday in August 2016. Ya’ll know once we get to September…that’s pretty much it for 2016. I mean people are already counting down the number of Sundays to Christmas – there are 16 more Sundays in case you were wondering. Start making dem lists and checking ’em twice!

…every Monday, we post seven positives from the previous seven days of the week as a reminder of what we have so that the week starts out on an upswing. There is much truth in the belief that happy people attract good things, so it is important to start the week out right. Sometimes it’s the more grand, but other times, it’s the simple things.~Key + Arrow

7 for Seven originated at Key + Arrow and now let’s get into my 7 for this week:

Mid-week Holiday. You guys I need a break, a vacation, a time out of time. We have holiday on Wednesday – our Independence Day – and I am looking forward to sleeping in. I am grateful in advance for the total vege-fest Wednesday is going to be.

Two Fridays in one week. Today I was totally psyching myself out by thinking that we are going to have two Mondays this week. This is what happens when you have a mid-week holiday. But I caught myself and decided to celebrate the little things and the fact that while this week might have two Mondays, we also get two Fridays and you gotta love that. So yay for mid-week holidays.

Surviving last week. I shared a bit about my week on Saturday over coffee. It was one of those where it seemed like things just kept going downhill with no end in sight. But the week did end and things are settling down now.

The entire Me before You soundtrack. I read the book and then I watched the movie. Now ya’ll I love the Khaleesi (Emilia Clarke) in GOT but she really brought Lou to life. You can listen to the soundtrack that is my new favourite earworm here.

My 7 for Seven this time last year. A reminder that time moves on and if we don’t stop to appreciate the little things that make up this life, we lose sight of what really matters. Love and Family.

Getting better at my latte art. I’ve been working on getting my ‘heart’ right and I’m getting there. It actually looks like a heart now and not a butt anymore. The goal is to do a swan. We’ll see.

And finally, I am grateful to Teyana Taylor. Her post-baby body and that VMAs performance launched a thousand diets and gym membership renewals today. I know she certainly had me reconsidering my food choices all day.  

I hope that by continuing to pay attention to the little things, the mundane details that make up all the blessings in my life and by sowing the seeds of faith and gratitude, I can truly carry with me and reap the rewards of “positivity + balance + bliss” throughout the days ahead.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire.

Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? How is 2016 shaping up for you? Feel free to share below!

#WeekendCoffeeShare 08/27/16

 

If we were having coffee, I would tell you, “Thank God for Weekend Coffees, because this was the week from hell!” Settle in while I brew, and recount this week’s saga.

It started with a bouncident over the weekend. It was my first one and I felt awful. I had a stress headache for three whole days afterward. The best advice I got, was that every time we get on the road we take a risk. These things happen every day and you move on.

So now I have a bill I totally didn’t cater for. Only to check my credit card statement to see charges to a hotel in Chile. I.have.never.been.to.Chile. So now the hassle of getting that sorted out. It takes so much time to dispute charges and get the whole thing resolved. Back and forth with my bank resulted in a favourable outcome, but it will still be some weeks before this whole thing is closed.

Do you mind if I add some rum to my coffee…? Make it an Iris…a Caribbean Coffee instead. *whoosah* Want any in yours?

It didn’t end there. On Thursday morning, I woke up to a kicked in fence. I actually thought nothing of it more than – I need to snap this and send it to the landlady. I really thought it might have been an over-zealous truck driver reversing too fast. There is some construction going on opposite me after all. So, no biggie.

As it turns out though, someone was in our yard. And I slept through the whole thing. SOMEONE WAS IN MY YARD…And I slept through the whole thing!!! All the fear and anxiety of living alone showed itself. I immediately imagined various scenarios all of them ending with me hurt or dead.

A friend of mine described it aptly, “Oh, someone broke into the fortress?” Because that’s what I thought it was too. An impenetrable fortress that only a natural disaster and probably zombies could break through.

I know better now. We got the wall fixed. Peace of mind not so much. No explanation as to the reason for the break-in…just destroyed property at this point.

Anyways, there was of course two bright spots this week. Baby S is now six months old – six months of joy! And I received some Happy Mail from New Zealand. Only I refuse to open it until she gets my mail to her, because, for a stupid reason, my package was returned and now I have to send it all over again.

Ugh!

If we were having coffee, I would pour you another cup, add some more rum to my own and and sink a little deeper into the sofa of truth while you share your news. I hope your week was waaaay better than mine. Share in the comments below. I need a pick-me up.

*****#WeekendCoffeeShare is an awesome link-up where coffee (or some other awesome beverage) is being shared over great conversations.

#WeekendCoffeeShare originated at Part Time Monster:

I started the Weekend Coffee Share last year after lots of feedback and several months of writing posts that imagined a conversation with my blog readers that started with the “if we were having coffee” line. The coffee share runs on the weekends, and there aren’t a lot of rules—-posts just need to be formatted like a conversation over beverages (we’ve had tea-drinkers and cocktail-hours as well as coffee) AND be written within the past week (so you don’t need to publish on the weekend to join the link-up). The hashtag #weekendcoffeeshare is in use all weekend on Twitter and Facebook, and it is sometimes used a bit during the week as well. .~Part Time Monster

Tea Time, Hotel Normandie

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Sometimes, I drink tea.

I know, I know…a coffee-lover like myself talking about tea. But you’d be surprised to know that I love a good cup of tea almost as much as I love coffee.

And I’ll have you know that the little girl in me, still loves a tea party – complete with all the little cakes and sandwiches that are the stuff of the best pretend tea parties of my childhood.

These days, instead of my plastic tea set, I get to sip from lovely real tea cups and snack on all the pretty petit fours, often with the company of a friend equally game to try something a little different.

Every Wednesday, Hotel Normandie has  Afternoon Tea which is quite affordable. There are three menu options to choose from and you will have a hard time deciding which of the delicious treats to start with first. There is also live entertainment, which adds to the ambiance.

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Give me all the things! You have a choice of savoury and sweet and believe me, you will think you can eat them all. But they add up. Choose wisely. Don’t be like me. I was oinking by the end of our evening.

 

If you’re in the mood for a little something different on a Wednesday, you can find them here.

Featured image via Unsplash

7 for SEVEN

August is winding down and the FOCUS this month has on starting and moving forward…and not worrying about the destination. It has been about “taking the next little step” rather than where those steps are leading me. And I am proud to say that progress – though small – has been made in the directions of my dreams.

…every Monday, we post seven positives from the previous seven days of the week as a reminder of what we have so that the week starts out on an upswing. There is much truth in the belief that happy people attract good things, so it is important to start the week out right. Sometimes it’s the more grand, but other times, it’s the simple things.~Key + Arrow

7 for Seven originated at Key + Arrow and now let’s get into my 7 for this week:

I am thankful for life. I got into a bouncident over the weekend. I have had a stress headache since. The best advice I got was that we take a risk every time we get on the road. Things happen and you thank God that it wasn’t worse and you move on. So now I have a bill I totally did not expect but I am grateful that it wasn’t any worse.

Baby S continues to be the joy of my life. So he has learned to roll over. He hasn’t quite learned the logistics of it as yet, his trailing arm gets stuck under his little body and then his face gets all red concentrating on getting it out. When he discovers what his knees are for…there will be no stopping him. I cannot wait for his shenanigans.

I am grateful for finding this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” A poignant reminder to be thankful for the little things that make up this life, because in the end, that’s all that matters.

My family. My uncle celebrated his 75th birthday yesterday to much dancing and happiness. He is the most lighthearted person I know and I suspect that has something to do with his longevity in relative good health. He continues to inspire all of us, to be better and do better.

The book I’m reading – The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. This book had me nodding and reflecting on my own life. I totally recommend it.

Sticking with my fitness plan. June 2016 I was at my heaviest weight ever. I am happy to report that I got my shit together and I am down 12lbs and counting. There is no easy solution, it is all about your lifestyle – diet and exercise. And I’m not going to lie, I fell off the wagon and rolled down the hill, hence the weight gain but I’m back in the gym and planning my meals. Some days it is a bitch to work all day and then go work out but I’m sticking with it. I feel better when I do.

Coffee with friends. I consider a well-made cup of coffee a treat. It’s an extra special treat when shared with good friends. This week I was blessed to have a nice cuppa and catch-up. These are the moments that make for a good life and I am grateful that I am able to recognize them and appreciate them.

And finally, I am grateful to be living in the age of the G.O.A.T. Caribbean pride abounds for the achievement of Usain Bolt.  

I hope that by continuing to pay attention to the little things, the mundane details that make up all the blessings in my life and by sowing the seeds of faith and gratitude, I can truly carry with me and reap the rewards of “positivity + balance + bliss” throughout the days ahead.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire.

Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? How is 2016 shaping up for you? Feel free to share below!