My Photography Journal @mo_fotography

I just love starting a new year. It’s a time when you can add a new chapter to your book of life. It's also a great time to start a new hobby.

Last November, I decided that I wanted to start taking pictures again. If I was really serious about doing this, I knew I had to put my Canon SD1100 IS to rest. To replace it, I purchased a Nikon D3300.

It stayed in the box until New Years day. That’s when I came across Project 365 on Pinterest. The challenge is to take one picture a day for the entire year.

By day three, I was ready to quit. It had started to feel like work. On top of that, I’ve been struggling with trying to figure out how this camera works. It doesn’t matter how many times I read the manual, there are still some things I can’t figure out. Thank goodness I have a few photography friends who are willing to help me out.

I’m looking forward to looking back on my photo journal at the end of the year. 

I’ve created an instagram page and will be posting my pictures weekly. Feel free to follow me as I take this journey -  @mo fotography.

 I’m also looking forward to learning all that I can about this beautiful art.

What's your new hobby for 2016?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :) 

365 days of Positivity

A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to figure out what my goal for 2016 would be. I came across several posts about picking three words for the year. The purpose of the exercise is to incorporate those words into your everyday life and let it become a part of who you are.

Instead of choosing three words, I decided to choose one: Positivity.

While I consider myself to be an optimistic individual, I tend to struggle to stay positive when things don’t go my way. I’m a control freak. Not being able to solve my problems drive me absolutely crazy.

God has really been testing me over the past few months. Some days I'm positive that He's going to work things out for me and other days I'm not so sure. 

I’m tired of my moods flip flopping. It has been destroying me. I knew I needed to change.

My word finally came to me on New Year’s Eve. Regardless of my current situations and all the situations to come, I’ve made up in my mind to make a conscious effort to become a more positive person in 2016.  

How will I do that? Well, I’ve joined the One Word 365 community. I’ll be able to follow those who’ve chosen the same word as myself and see what they’re doing to stay positive all year round.

What’s your word for 2016?

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When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :) 

My Happiness Project - Health & Fitness

Last month I started My Happiness Project journey. My January resolution was Spirituality: to spend more time with God through prayer, daily Bible reading and scripture memorization. I started off strong and started falling off mid month. It’s a new month and I’m ready to try again.

This month’s focus is on Health & Fitness: to maintain a healthy weight and diet by exercising and eating right. Last week I started my P90X workout. I’m also going to be doing the 30 day Squat Challenge. Time to get this body Summer ready!

I'm finally going to put my sewing machine to work this month by signing up for sewing classes. It's time to start making my own clothes since stores don't make clothes to fit the shape of a Black Woman. This is the perfect skill to learn just in time for Summer.

Guess what? I survived 34 days without candy! This candy fast hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. Read My Candy Addiction for the full story.

What goals/resolutions have you made for this month?

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Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)

Pet Peeves

I always tell people if they want to see me get upset, just be late for our appointment. 

Nothing gets under my skin more than people who have zero respect for time. If we agreed to meet at 2, I expect you to be there for 2 – 2:15 the latest. If you are running late, do me a favour by calling or texting me. Don’t expect me to know that you lost track of time or got stuck in traffic. I’m not a mind reader for heaven’s sake!

By being late, it shows me that you don’t respect me or my time.

I don’t know how many family members and friends I’ve blasted over the years for this.

Mind you, I’ve mellowed out over the past ten years. Unfortunately, I started doing what I hate the most – being late and not calling or texting whomever I was meeting. It’s gotten to the point where people expect me to be late. I don’t want to be known for that. As part of my Happiness Project, I’ve made a resolution to start being on time again.

Here are some other pet peeves that drive me insane:

1) People that wear socks with sandals. Socks are to be worn with sneakers only.

2) People that don’t spell check before sending an email. Some should do the same before sending a text.

3) Parents that make up their children’s name. I believe that every child’s name should have a meaning.

4) Men who do the whole “psssst” thing to get a woman’s attention. I’m sorry, do we look like dogs?

While looking on line for what others consider pet peeves, I couldn’t help but laugh at the following:

Couples who sit on the same side of the booth when there is no one on the other side

Couples that own a dog together and call themselves Mommy and Daddy

Anyone – male or female- who says “We’re pregnant”. Are they sharing a uterus?

What is your #1 pet peeve?

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Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)

My Candy Addiction

I must have been in my early twenties when I discovered Fuzzy Peaches. I would finish a bag within a half hour or less. Overtime, they became my comfort food. If I wasn't feeling well, I'd buy them. If I wasn't in a good mood, I'd buy them. If I was stressed out, I'd buy them. If I was on cloud nine, I'd buy them. Sometimes I would buy them just for the sake of buying them!

By August 2004, I realized I had a serious problem. I was addicted to candy. It wasn't just Fuzzy Peaches but also Wine Gums and Swedish Berries. I decided to challenge myself. I was going to do a candy and chocolate fast for an entire year. I told my siblings and close friends my plan and asked for their support. Some of them laughed and told me I was crazy but promised to help me.

August 6, 2005 ended my year long candy fast (with the exception of one or two slip-ups). I felt good about myself for completing this fast. If I could do without candy and chocolate for an entire year, I could do anything! I ended and celebrated this monumental event with a pack of Jolly Ranchers.

The celebration continued that weekend. I bought every kind of candy I could get my hands on. The following week, I promised myself that I would keep my candy intake under control so that I wouldn't have to torture myself again.

Fast forward 10 years and I'm back at square one. This time it's worse. Some weeks I would buy candy everyday. I'm afraid to look back at my banking statements to see how much money I wasted at Bulk Barn, Walmart, the Dollar Store and even Shoppers just to fill my craving. 

Last year, my Naturopathic Doctor was shocked at how high my sugar level was. He told me I needed to scale back and to come back in four months for a follow-up.   I didn't go back.

I tried to do another candy fast at least half a dozen times but failed.

Well, it's a new year and I'm trying again. December 31st I had my last bag of fuzzy peaches. I won't be as crazy this time and eliminate chocolate. Just candy. With all the baking I do, avoiding chocolate would be next to impossible.

Now I'll have to find a healthy alternative to fill my candy craving.

I have 12 months to come up with a game plan on how to keep this addiction under control for good. Once I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Any suggestions for a healthy alternative to fill my candy void?

What addiction are you trying to overcome/have overcome?


Visit next Tuesday for "The Key Ingredient".


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Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)

My Happiness Project

Like most, at the end of every year I create a bucket list – a list of things I would like to accomplish the following year. Every June I review my list and realize that I’m nowhere near accomplishing my long list of goals. By the end of the year, I'm lucky if I'm able to cross off 5 items. I always told myself that there was always “next year”.

Last month, I came across “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin – a book about her twelve month resolution plan to happiness. Every month she made new resolutions with the hopes of keeping them for the entire year. I thought this was a pretty realistic way of accomplishing my goals so I decided that as of January 1^st, I was going to start my own happiness project.

For the month of January, my focus is on Spirituality – to spend more time with God through prayer, daily Bible reading and scripture memorization.

One of my goals has always been to start a blog.  It’s something I’ve wanted to do but didn’t have the time nor was I ready to commit. Now I’m ready. I finally turned my dream into a reality.

Special thanks to my sister, Winter, who inspired me to start blogging.

Will I be happier by the end of 2015? Who knows. Every year I like to try something new and this year it happens to be “The Happiness Project” – tackling my dreams and goals one month at a time.

What resolutions have you made this year?

What steps will you take to accomplish them? 
    

Visit on Thursday for "My Candy Addiction".

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Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)