A few weeks ago I took part in my best friend of eighteen years wedding. She found the love of her life and they have now entered into the next phase of living. Now I wanted share the moments I experienced in this amazing wedding because it was not your typical wedding as they are not your typical couple.

Just to give a little insight on the couple…Jaime who is my best friend of many years is a wonderful individual with a great big heart who is always there when you need her.  She is an identical twin, but nothing like her sister. Jaime is very free spirited and cares more about life, earth and people than anything else.  She is extremely intelligent and is a science research specialist by trade.

The new addition to the family…her new husband Ronnie whom I have known since I was in high school too is probably the most laid back individual I have ever met. In high school he was the guy that always sat around playing acoustic guitar in the park while everyone else was running around and being crazy. Sweet, sweet guy also with a great big heart and the two of them together are a perfect match.

Jaime wanted to do something different for their wedding. They live in the Beautiful Blue Grass state…Kentucky and had their wedding in a local horse park. The grass and trees during this time are amazing. This time of year the beautiful colors of the grass, trees and cool weather were perfect for an outside wedding. She wanted to incorporate some history of their ancestors into their wedding and this is where it became interesting.  In doing so she decided to let loose a little and make this special day costume oriented. Yes…costumes and she did an amazing job at organizing the wedding.

They both have Apache Indian in the ancestry background and wanted to bring some of the wedding rituals into her ceremony.  In doing so she needed to represent The Universe, Life, Time, Water, Air, Earth and Fire.  The wedding party became each element and had a reading within the ceremony to talk about how they were going to incorporate their new lives together. For example I represented time so I actually read an Apache Wedding Blessing called Blessing of Time. I was fortunate as my dress was black, but everyone else had to dress according to what element they were representing…like fire wore a dress with orange in it. We each had wings to wear which matched our dresses and we represented fairies….very different!

They also did things like washing their hands and getting rid of past sins. They each combine sand together to illustrate how they will become one. They also had fire dancers and little kids running around with streamers. The guests were allowed to come dressed in medieval times like clothing. We also released butterflies representing new life…and everyone sat in a big circle as the couple sat in the middle. It was really amazing…we were not sure how it was going to turn out, but she did a great job of organizing it, researching and implementing. There was not a dull moment that day and there were a total of 150 guests so it was fairly decent in size too.

It was a wonderful wedding and as odd as it might sound everything turned out really well. We all enjoyed being a part of this wonderful day and will remember it for many years to come. I wish them both all the love and happiness possible and may they have a loving, prosperous life filled with lots of family and friends.

Summer Semester is finally over, and I do not have any plans for fun…Wow! Normally around this time I am packing my bags to take a little trip. It is nice to have a two week break every eleven weeks. However this break I am broke and staying home. Not to mention I went on a little break already before school ended. It wasn’t a vacation, but a best friend got married and I was in the wedding. There is more to come on that later.

So I ask myself…what I am going to do during my break. I will be relaxing as I always seem to be on the go and on the computer so I am going to take a step back and breathe a little fresh air. This week I have been a little under the weather so a little R&R is good for me. I am also going to take this time to study for my Real Estate exam.  I finally got approved to take the state exam… Whew, what a relief!

I am also going to take time to do some little things around the house that I have had on my list for way too long. You know…like spring cleaning except it is fall time. Spring came and went way too quickly I did not have time to do any cleaning.  It is amazing how quickly the year has passed us by. Not to scare anyone, but the Holiday season is right around the corner.    

No the less, I am going to sit back and relax. I really value the next two weeks and do not know what I would do without it. These days it seems like I have so much I want to do and just not enough time in the day. Not to mention I do not have as much energy as I use to so I can only go full throttle for so long.    

 I hope all of you have better plans for your break….Be safe and don’t forget to stop by and share your stories.

There are many football fans out there that all wait for this time of year to come. In fact many of us are lost once the season is over.  I am a huge football fan and love this time of year just for this simple reason.  Pre-season actually started a few weeks ago, but I do not really get into that as much. Mainly because there is a lot of warming up to do, getting use to playing with new players and they do not even play the good players as much; other than during the first quarter or two.

Now when it comes to Football there are college fans and there are NFL fans. I like to watch both and I have a love for both while many people only prefer one or the other. Some of my friends refuse to watch NFL because they say the heart and love is not in the game because it’s all about money.  I do agree to a point because these players are paid way too much to play a sport they love. And this is in all sports not just football. However the college players are playing to be noticed so they can make it to an NFL team so it’s kind of a double standard.

My team for NFL is Tampa Bay Buccaneers who is based out of Tampa Florida. They are the closest NFL team to me in Orlando so I have just always followed them. Now the Tampa Bay Bucs have had some good years and they have had some horrible years.  We have had some great coaches and some okay coaches. Overall I feel the team has struggled from lack of something. I do not know this for sure and this is just my speculation, but both of our last 2 coaches Dungy and Gruden were pretty amazing coaches and have led many teams to championships, but for some reason did not do well with our team. My question is…Are they given full authority to lead the team? Is there someone holding them back or restricting them? Who knows….we may never know. Now we have a new coach Raheem Morris. Raheem has been with Tampa since 2004 so he knows the team very well and hopefully will make great strides.  The only problem I see thus far is the fact we have so many new players on the team it may take a year to get use to playing together.  Oh and not to mention we have a very difficult schedule this year. We shall see….

As for College I watch two teams. Orlando’s home town team UCF and of course the Florida Gators. I have a love for both and watch all of their games. Well if they are aired on TV. The UCF games we try to attend a few here and there, but tickets can be pricey so we cannot go to all. Florida is hard to get tickets too. You literally have to know someone to get tickets, but I have been to a few and I love going to their games. The energy and love you feel throughout the whole stadium is amazing. UCF last year just built their own stadium on campus so that was very exciting for all the fans. Hopefully now we can start playing like a real football team.

Well here is to a good season. I will keep you updated with home team games as we attend for UCF and Tampa. As well as my thoughts on how we are playing. I would also like to here if any of you have a favorite team. And how do you expect your season to make out this year.

I need a little friendly advice from my fellow bloggers out there. It pertains to my work and referring someone into the company. In the past I was not a fan or referring friends or acquaintances to my employer for the fear of them not working out and perhaps making me look bad at the end of the day. I mean face it you cannot expect people to be perfect or be as dependable as you, right. I mean I do not miss work unless I am deathly ill or there is a death in the family or I requested time off, also I work very hard making sure I am doing the best job possible; not just for the company but for my own benefit.  However I have worked with many, many people who do not practice the same motto.

However despite my fear of referring people I know – I took the plunge to help out an old colleague that had been laid off from work and was not having the best of luck finding anything. It is a very challenging job market and it is hard to get into a company today unless you know someone.  I referred my friend over to HR and of course she still had to go through the interviewing process as everyone does, but she did very well and was presented an offer. After she was hired one of the other employees mentioned to me that we are paid a referral bonus – great free money!  After 90 days you are paid $250 and then additional $250 at six months and a hundred at the one year mark.

Well I called HR upon it coming close to my friends 90 day mark and asked how they go about paying the referral bonus. She mentioned that she was not aware that I referred her, but she will go ahead and set me up to receive it in the next pay period which would have put her there for 120 days. That’s cool – I am ok with that.  Well here is the part I need your advice on….The same day as pay day my friend was let go for lack of performance.  She started at a difficult time and was just not producing deals – well many were not, but they let her go for some reason. They didn’t even try to help her – that irritates me. Anyhow needless to say when I got my check that day there was no referral fee.  She was there longer than 90 days and at 90 days I am suppose to receive $250. Obviously at 6 months she won’t be there so I understand I will not get that, but shouldn’t I receive payment for the time she was there working for the company?

I put an email into the HR lady and now she is ignoring me. It’s a great professional company right? Well I want to collect this money if it is owed to me so I could use a little advice – what is your take on the situation? I feel bad for my friend and I know she put up her best try to make things work there. Something’s are just not for everyone…I wish her the best in her future endeavors and I will always be there if she needs a referral. What is your thought on this….? Any help would be great!  

I wanted to take some time to talk with you guys about making sure you eat right and also keep active in the gym as it is very important too. It will keep you going on those days when you feel you cannot make it another step…We need to stay in good health so our bodies and minds stay in good health. Especially during these difficult and stressful times in the economy today; like loved ones losing their job, or you losing your job, money being tight, challenges trying to pay bills; all these things can build up a ton of stress which can make us ill and cause many health problems.

When starting out your week it is best to plan ahead of time. If you have a really busy work schedule and perhaps going to class too it is easier to plan meals and dedicate an allotted time to working out.  If you plan your meals in advance then you can make sure that you are still getting the good nutrition that is needed to fuel your body. When we do not plan we end up eating foods that are bad for us and high in fat. This is what we want to avoid because what does fat do…it makes us fat. I started cooking certain dishes on Sunday and then freezing them so during the week all I have to do is defrost/heat and eat. Not to mention you can throw in a quick side salad and you have your daily vegetable serving too. To give you some ideas; you can make casseroles or if you have a crock pot you can cook all kinds of meals – They sell books that give you tons of recipes to make (check out Amazon recipe books). You could even prep the night before and then in the morning before leaving put it on low and off for the entire day – when you come home you can eat. It doesn’t get much easier than that unless you have a butler or someone at home cooking for you. I unfortunately do not have either one.  

The next most important task we should practice weekly is exercise. Most of us hate it; we probably all hate it, but in order to remain healthy, live longer and stay in shape it is necessary. First I want to start by saying I am not certified and I am only going by what I have learned in my life of exercise and working with trainers.  If you have not worked out in years it is always best to speak with your doctor before beginning any new exercise. Exercise is not only to keep us in good physical shape, but it is good for our heart which keeps our blood pumping making our other organs run smoother and makes our skin healthier.  It also helps to keep your metabolism up which helps fight off the bad fats we eat and it keep the immune system stronger. I could go on and on, but you get my point. I go to the gym for an hour, four days a week. Now that is asking a lot for many of you so do not panic. They say if you give yourself at least 30 minutes day three times a week you can maintain good health. The key word there is maintaining so if you are trying to lose weight or get a certain figure then you might need to increase.  I have found the best work out plan for me; which would be best for most women is Supersets workout. This type of workout keeps you moving constantly and very little breaks therefore you are continuously burning fat. To give you an example:

Start by doing;

-Crunches/sit-ups

-then run for 2 minutes on treadmill

-then a set of regular lunges (15)

-set of squats- (15)

-set of side lunges (15)

-then back to treadmill for 2 minutes

**All of this would then repeat 2 more times and then I would have another 3 different exercises and so on – until I reach my hour mark. It is pretty intense because I do not take a break, but I feel great from doing it and I know I am making a difference to my body. If you do not have a gym you can walk or run outside and you can do all types of exercise in your own home without ever leaving or buying expensive workout equipment.

I also started taking vitamins because it is very important as we do not get enough nutrients from our daily foods. You can take regular vitamins daily, fish oil is important (I recently started taking Krill oil with primrose-more Omega 3’s then regular fish oil), and then whatever your personal body may be lacking; like iron or vitamin D, B or C.

These are all very simple things to keep you going day in and day out. If any of you have any questions or want some more ideas on working out and different cardio/exercise techniques let me know. I would be more than happy to help to the best of my ability. Happy Health!!