A change of pace: Healing is a Choice

Change to this blog:
To spice things up this year, I'm going to try and dedicate Fridays to NBC TV. I already catch up on Hulu every Friday and go on and on to my boyfriend about all the episodes I watch. I figure it would be cool to broadcast it, since I think my blog needs to get a little more entertaining. I'll also space the posts out by network (Wednesdays will be Fox shows, Thursdays for ABC). So from now on, look forward to recaps of the latest episodes of the shows I watch:

• The Office
• Parks and Recreation
• 30 Rock
• The Mindy Project
• Modern Family
• Raising Hope
• New Girl
• (MAYBE) The Walking Dead

Now, onto an old book review I should've done a long time ago for booksneeze.com. 

Author: Stephen Arterburn

Pages: 480

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Summary (from publisher):

The power to heal—physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually—is in God’s hands. But the choice to be healed is yours. Everyone, at some level, needs healing. You may have prayed for healing many times, for many years. Perhaps you have lived with your brokenness so long that you have become accustomed to it. Maybe you wonder just when God is going to take all the hurt away.

He can. But you also must choose to let the hurt go and let the healing begin.

In this special edition of Healing Is a Choice, author Stephen Arterburn offers a unique combination of book and workbook, outlining ten choices crucial to receiving healing. Embracing these choices means rejecting the lies we often tell ourselves. These are not hoops God requires you to jump through to earn your miracle; they form, instead, the journey He desires for you. He can—and will—walk with you. But you must put one foot in front of the other and choose to let the hurt go and let the healing begin.

Thoughts:

This is targeted towards Christians. I had just signed up for BookSneeze at the time and going through a broken engagement, so seeing this book seemed like a sign at the time (especially since it was for free). When I got this book, I was shocked by its size. It's a thhiiiccckk book. Upon inspection, I realized that it's because after every decision, there's a workbook you can complete, so that takes up about half of the book. They are 10 decisions, a workbook section for each one, and a final commentary on the entire process and God. On page 186, Afterburn says," This book is about healing choices." He's not promising your problems to be gone. Rather, he's suggesting to explore inwards and see why exactly you've been holding onto baggage and why it's time to let go. It's a guide to how to get closer to getting the closure or healing you desire. I like that he made it more personal by talking about his own struggles in divorce. It's a great tool to those who need it. 

'til next time, stay classy! ♥

-M

McRib Review by DayMDrops!

Today I was catching up on the Jimmy Fallon episodes I've missed. I was watching the one with Backstreet Boys as the musical guest (of course), and they showed this hilarious video about this Youtube food critic. His name is DayMDrops and he does food reviews with some serious personality. Don't believe me? Watch, please:

He kind of reminds me of Fatman Scoop a little, lol. I don't know if I'm just in love with it because I looovvee when people can make small things sound so epic but I couldn't stop smiling. This guy's funny. Anyways, have a great first weekend of 2013, everybody! :)

'til next time, stay classy! ♥

-M

Just a reminder for the new year..

Hello to all and welcome to 2013! 

This is my first post of the year and I wanted to start on a happy note.

Everyone on my feed and Twitter is complaining about how lame it is to try to keep resolutions.

Where's the spirit this year? There's nothing wrong with having some optimism and having goals. Those are two ingredients for success, if you ask me. All you need with that is consistency and voilà, you have results!

A lot are about weight (as usual) and it's true: statistics do say that by February, most have abandoned their goals. However, I think that one day of working out, no matter how low-intensity it is, will be a lot more productive than one day on the couch complaining. There was a saying I read that really stuck with me. It was something along the lines of," Why don't you just exercise for one hour a day instead of complaining that you're fat 24 hours a day?" It blew my mind, lol. Then there was also this picture I thought was awesome on Instagram. I even took a screenshot of it:

If that doesn't motivate you, I don't know what does. I also posted a video way back (in case you'd like to see it, it's this one) and the guy said," Just because I can't do it to-day doesn't mean I won't do it some-day." That's the spirit people should have this year! I know I feel it. Even if I don't do well some days, I can't wallow in self-pity for too long anymore. Gotta get back on the horse, ya dig? Even if it's something you're petrified of doing this year, go for it. You're gonna look back and regret that you didn't do things more than you'll regret the things you did. So you won't think I'm spinning a bunch of crap for you, here are some of mine:

• start giving 10% of my checks to church again (I did in 2011 and some of 2012 but stopped! :( )
• become a member of either the Humane Society or ASPCA  (I want to help animals)
• put aside money for a pet fund and a savings account
• get fit (it's looonngg overdue)
• all A's til I graduate

The financial goals will be hard for me because I got used to working full-time and now I'm going part-time so it's a big crunch for me but I want to get disciplined so this won't be a big deal to do while I'm married. I did a pretty good job in 2012 with my goals so I'm hoping history will repeat itself.

Everyone's troubles will be different but we can all do it! 

This picture below is a great life motto!

Well, that's enough motivation for today! Good luck to everyone!

'til next time, stay classy!♥

-M

Gossip Girl: Would I Lie To You?

Happy New Year to everyone! Wishing you all the luck in the world with all the resolutions and reminding you to party safe!

Author: Cecily Von Ziegesar

Pages: 192

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Summary (from the publisher):
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side where my friends and I live, and go to school, and play, and sleep - sometimes with each other.We all live in huge apartments with our own bedrooms and bathrooms and phone lines.We're smart, we've inherited classic good looks, we have fantastic clothes, and we know how to party... Continuing the #1 New York Times bestselling series about the provocative lives of New York City's most prestigious private school young adults. Sharp wit, intriguing characters, and high stakes melodrama drive the action of this addictive series that have made Gossip Girl the lit world's coveted "it" girl.

Thoughts:
Everyone has graduated (except for Nate who is working at his Coach's Hampton house). Blair and Serena have these weird European twins flown in by Bailey Winter who end up trying to take over their spotlight from the fashion campaign B & S were muses for. Vanessa had started babysitting in the last book, but in this book she leaves after coming to the Hamptons. She comes back to the city to find Dan exploring his sexuality with a guy named Greg (coworker at The Strand). This happens in a drunken same-sex orgy that was originally supposed to be a literary salon. The story and even some of the editing seemed very lazy. On page 126, they misspelled the word "brother" and put "bother". The one thing I will say was that this was the first time I've seen the series use a Craigslist ad and letters. I also liked some of the quotes being quoted during the literary stuff that was going on (ex. "Weren't ideas, when all is said and done, so superior to reality?" page 64). That was a pleasant surprise, but it wasn't something I could enjoy for long. I was more annoyed than shocked when Serena had her "realization" that she loves Nate this whole time. Not only was it in the tenth book, it was also in the last third half of the book. I'll read the other books after this only because I bought them (so I don't want to waste money). However, I don't know if wasting my time reading them will make up for the money. Since the TV show is over, I don't feel as obligated anymore to finish the series if it's not that well-written. We'll see. My next review will show my decision. 

Ain't No Body Got Time for That

I'm up early (9:00 am to be exact) and while I wake up and get my busy day going, I thought I'd post early for once.

This Christmas, I had the pleasure of sharing it with Eric. Last night was our one year anniversary. All these things are all great, but one thing was grinding my gears. To be specific, it was this video: 

Now, this video isn't so bad when it's standing alone. However, whenever there's a news report on Youtube, there's always a spoof. THAT is what I don't really like. This is it:

For some reason, Eric's siblings could not get enough of this video. I liked it at first because I thought the editing was well done. Hearing it once might make you laugh, but hearing it on repeat for half an hour will really test your patience. Maybe I was just being cranky, but maybe all the repitition butchered it for me as well. Who knows. Anyways, just thought I'd share it with you for this Friday's installment. You be the judge.

'til next time, keep it classy! ♥

-M