Gettin' it in!

Once again, as I was about to lay my head on the pillow, I remembered my COMMITMENT and the fact that I had not blogged yet today. So, this one'll be short and sweet.

Today I participated in the "LA Big 5K" which is kind of the precursor to tomorrow's big race, the LA Marathon. No, I'm not participating in that one. At least not as a runner. I have signed up to volunteer at a water station although that's lookin' a little shaky right now because I'm not sure if all the road closures will allow me to even get there. And I hate being stressed when I drive. Driving to a place that I'm not even sure that I'll be able to get to is my idea of stress.

But I do have the runners on my mind and in my prayers tonight, and have a few friends who are actually doing the 26.2 miles. They are true inspirations for this chick who only "wogs".

Now, Let the DIALOGUE begin: Have YOU ever run, walked, jogged in a marathon, half marathon, 5K, or 10K?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

On your mark, get set, GO!

URGH!!! Do you know what that is? It's the sound of me having to come an log back on to the computer after I was all ready for bed and had just knelt down to pray before I crawled into bed for the night. Then I remembered my commitment and the fact that I hadn't written a post yet for today. So, here I am. Tired as all get out and have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to go do the LA Big 5K race that I signed up for. In a nutshell, I've become somewhat addicted to this racing thing. I love being a part of the "running community" and I love getting shirts and medals. Oh, and I love the fact that I can even COMPLETE a 5k. This time last year I was sittin' on my couch doing zilch. So as the commercial goes, "I've come a long way baby." So that's about it. I love walking/wogging/jogging...whatever you wanna call it. And in just a few hours I'll be "doin' my thang." Let the DIALOGUE begin: Name something positive and/or life-changing that you are doing TODAY that you weren't doing this time LAST YEAR. Talk to me! Til next time... *Good night*

I can see clearly now.

So it's 11:00 p.m., I'm tired, and in just 6 hours I have to get up for work. Nevertheless, I made a commitment to myself (and to YOU) that I will post for seven days in a row, without fail. And, so...here I am. Tonight I'm writing about something supernatural that happened to me last Saturday. Yes folks, a true act of God. As some of you know, I have "special" eyes and have to take care of them and be more careful than the "average bear." If you've ever seen me outside on a sunny day with dark glasses on over my glasses...there's a "special" reason why. In a nutshell, I am doing everything in my power to preserve vision that (according to the retina specialist)I should not have. My eyes do things that most people's don't do. And those things aren't good. So don't be jealous...you're not missing out on ANYTHING. Well, last Friday night as I drove up to Northridge and back, I kept noticing something on my window. No matter how many times I swiped it with the windshield wipers, they wouldn't get clean. There was this constant smudge. I just kept driving. Then, Saturday afternoon as I was coming home from my reading club I noticed the "smudges" again. Except this time, they looked like moving waves. I would call them "microwaves" but I don't know what those look like. Whatever they were, I quickly began to realize that they were not normal. I realized that I was not seeing smudges on my window but that my right eye was "going haywire." It wasn't supposed to do what it was doing. I began to panic, thinking that I should call my eye doctor RIGHT AWAY. I had a feeling though that if I did that it would mean emergency surgery...and I'm just not ready for that. So...I did the only thing I know to do. I went to God in prayer. Right there as I was driving down the street I called upon the name of the Lord and asked Him to heal my eye. In the name of Jesus, I prayed for healing. And I got it. I believe I received my healing IMMEDIATELY because I didn't notice any weirdness in my eye when I got home, nor since. I BELIEVE that I am healed. So, now it's your turn. Let the DIALOGUE begin: What has God healed you of? To the point that you know with 100% certainty that it was God and ONLY God who healed you. Talk to me! Til next time...

Finding my Inner "Naturalista"

So...what's new? I'll go first. Twelve days ago I decided to get rid of my hair. I just hopped in a barber's chair and said, "take it off." He did. So far I really like it. It's the first time in my life (at least that I can remember) that I've worn my hair short AND natural. No chemicals. No heat. Just MY hair the way God grows it. I gotta admit, I was a little nervous about how this would turn out because my natural hair sits at the intersection of "nappy" and "not so nappy." But I decided that nappy or not, this is MY hair, and I have to embrace it because it's a part of me. And here we are. With leave-in conditioner and some good oil, it leans more toward the side of "not so nappy." But when that stuff dries up...WATCH OUT! I look like a "Soul Train Flashback." So there you have it. I've posted the before and after pics so that you can get a feel for what a drastic change this was for me. I'm not stressin' though. It's just hair. It'll either grow back, or it won't. No biggie. So now it's YOUR turn. Let the DIALOGUE begin: What is the most drastic thing you've ever done to YOUR hair? Talk to me! Til next time...

2013

Similar to most people, with the new year

I have decided to make a change. I've decided to come back to my neglected little blog and give it the attention that it deserves, even if I am the only one who visits. In the past I've allowed myself to get discouraged because there is so very litte traffic here at The Dialogue Den. And talking to myself is simply no fun. But I've decided once again, that I will continue writing, in the hopes of ONE DAY being discovered, but if not, I will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I've done what I was purposed to do...WRITE. Even if no one read, comments, likes...whatever...I will still write. Period. So, to anyone who happens to pass by this way and just gets the overwhelming urge to COMMENT, here's my question for YOU today: What POSITIVE change have you COMMITTED to do in 2013 than you've done in years past. I'm not talking about resolutions...I'm talking about COMMITMENT. I'll start. I have COMMITTED to walk/run 500 miles by 12.13.31 Now, it's your turn. LET THE DIALOGUE BEGIN: You know the question. Now...go! Talk to me! Til next time...

Above the Clouds

I love this picture. I mean, I really really love it. It's such a simple picture yet it has so much meaning. I took this picture while flying home from San Francisco one day in July 2011. I loved the way that we were flying over a sea of clouds yet, just above the clouds was beautiful blue sky. It mad me think about all of the people who were BELOW this sea of clouds. What were they experiencing? Were they being hit with rainfall? Were they simply having a gloomy day because the sun hadn't quite been able to break through? How many of the people BELOW the clouds were aware of the fact that ABOVE the clouds there was this BEAUTIFUL BLUE SKY. It was a great reminder for me that no matter how gloomy things may appear at times, there is ALWAYS a beautiful blue sky just about the gloom. And the gloom doesn't last forever. So, there are two options. 1. Wait for the gloom to go away and before you know it, the sky will be blue again. 2. Look up. Maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to see some of the beautiful blue poking through. That's it. Just wanted to share my cloud filled blue sky with all of you. After all, something THIS beautiful should not be kept to ones self. Let the DIALOGUE begin: Have you ever taken a picture while flying? If so, what's the coolest picture you've taken?

Talk to me! Til next time...

Workin' 9 to 5 and LOVING it!!!

So I started my new job on Monday...YAY!!! It's been fantastic. I am so happy. Happy with the company. Happy with the people. Happy with the position. Happy with the product. Happy with the location. Just HAPPY. So let me give you a run down of my wonderful work week: I got there Monday morning and had training with two other new hires. They are both great! So we're going through orientation, everything is good and right about noon, MY GLASSES BREAK. Whoa! Right in half, they break. I tried wearing them anyway but because they weren't aligned properly I started getting a headache. So then I had the bright idea to super-glue them. Well...that didn't go so well. As soon as I put the glasses back on, the fumes from the glue made my eyes water terribly. What was I gonna do? Get this...the kind gentleman who was in new hire training with me offered to drive me home to get another pair. Can you believe that?!? He had only known me for a few hours and there he was offering to help me. I took him up on the offer because I had to have some way of being able to see. Without my glass, I see NOTHING! So he drives me home and thankfully I knew exactly where I kept the old pair. Can't tell you how many times I had almost donated them. I was so glad that I kept them. So we get the glasses and head back to work. The rest of the week was great. Now we fast forward to Friday. Going back to my glasses... Although the old pair allowed me to see, they were bent out of shape and didn't fit properly on my face. So all week I was awkwardly tilting my head to align my face with my glasses. Embarrassing, but hey...I could see and that was all that mattered. When I got to work Friday morning I greeted the security guards (by name) as I do every morning. One of them congratulated me on completing my first week. I thanked him and told him how it was a great week even though my glasses broke on Monday and I had been wearing crooked ones all week. He immediately told me to take my glasses off. What?!? So I did. He took them and started bending and pushing and I just stood there in awe thinking, "Oh no...what if those break too. They're my only pair." No sooner that I finished having my panicked thoughts, he gives them back and says, "There...put them on now." WOW!!! He fixed them! They were perfectly straight. I would've hugged him but that probably wasn't "workplace appropriate", so I just thanked him greatly and told him that he was my hero for the day. I was so happy. So that was my first work week, and a glimpse of the wonderful people I work with. I really really like my new job and I thank God for it EVERYDAY! Let the DIALOGUE begin: What's the craziest thing that ever happened to you on YOUR first week of work? Talk to me! Til next time...