Life changing? No. Freeing? Yes.

March 10, 2014

For some, blogging has changed their lives. It’s helped them face fears and overcome challenges, maybe find themselves in the midst of writing. That’s not my story. Not yet anyways. But like a wet dish rag I’ll try to wring some words out of today’s BlogHer topic: How has blogging changed your life? Tell us one thing that is different now than from before you started blogging. Even though I first …

Blogging: Life Uninterrupted

March 7, 2014

“The emotional and mental weight of it all is so heavy, so draining that I think being a mute wouldn’t be so bad.” This is an excerpt from a past blog: This is My Confession. I think it’s the most vulnerable thing I’ve ever written. And I’m slowly starting to learn that the raw emotion of what I feel is better captured in my blog than it ever could be in …

Three Paths to Authentic Gabby

March 5, 2014

Can I be honest? I’m dead tired. Like running off six hours of sleep, working a full day at work with dishes to clean at home, wishing the neighbors would talk loud inside their house tired. I had to suck down a cup of Yerba Mate Peppermint Green Tea, the black coffee of teas, to fight my impending lupus fatigue. And today’s post topic? Meh, lol. Nevertheless, today’s BlogHer topic …

The Writer Without a Voice

March 4, 2014

I am a professional writer and I don’t know my writing voice. Somewhere after graduating from the creative wonderland of Florida A&M University and stepping into the real world of hard news journalism I lost it. I used to write poetry – but the pressure of paying bills sucked the romance out of my words. Kind of how Ursula sucked the voice out of Ariel in the Little Mermaid, lol!I miss …

My Short List of Interesting

March 3, 2014

First, let’s just put it all out on the table and address the elephant in the room: the fact that I haven’t blogged in seven months! Oh, I thought about blogging, jotted down blogging ideas, talked to folks about why I couldn’t blog – but there was no actual blogging. Until today! Friday, BlogHer sent me a divine email that confirmed that yes indeed it was time to revive the …

Have You Seen My Peace?

August 25, 2013

I’m looking for that divine peace I had. Have you seen it? After the initial shock of learning that I needed a kidney transplant wore off there was a calming sense that everything would work out – somehow, someway. That God had it all planned out up there. And that hasn’t changed, but as the kidney application went from my hands in to the hands of the transplant center – so …

This Is My Confession

August 16, 2013

There’s only so many times you can tell people, “I’m fine”, “I’m OK”, or “I’m good” before you start believing your own untruths. Those are answers based on how I’m doing physically, but the emotional side of things are rarely addressed. Most of the time the “I’m fines” start as ways to get out conversations I’d rather not have – because let’s face it, not everybody wants to hear how …

Who Are You?

July 6, 2013

Remember the worm from Alice in Wonderland and the question he asked Alice? “Whooooo are you?” I am a wife to my husband, a daughter to my parents, a sister to many women, an advocate for lupus, an employee, a disciple, but who am I to myself? This thought has popped in my head a lot, especially on the weekend — which for me are getting to be extension of …

Hi. I’m a Recovering Perfectionist.

May 30, 2013

I admire people who have these grand ideas of putting out projects and starting blogs… and actually follow through. They know it’s not going to be perfect and along the way they work to improve it to make their vision all it can be. These people are my heroes. And that’s not an exaggeration. Here’s why: Moi, a self-diagnosed perfectionist has been “perfecting” this here blog for nearly FOUR years… …

Steel Magnolias

May 25, 2013

Mom: Well I’ll give you one of my kidneys baby. Me: **Awkward laugh** Mom, this is not Steel Magnolias. (Shame on you if you haven’t seen Steel Magnolias) I should take you back to the beginning of this story. I can be pretty persistent. Some call it stubbornness. I call it determination. Well, I had to use my “determination” and pull some of my old reporting techniques, like repeatedly calling …