life - cafe mocha reflections

Within My Reach

November 20, 2012 by Whitney 8 Comments

I never got caught up in getting older, as a matter of fact ~ I looked forward to it. Something about turning 50 this year was different. It certified me as a woman whose wisdom and life experiences are more than I imagined. I’ve always been one to encourage, be that shoulder you could cry on, tell me something in confidence, but when I reflect on things, something I do all the time, everything I ever wanted and desired for my life has always been within my reach. I didn’t achieve them all, not by a long shot, but for the most part I did reach for them. There are still several things that I want to do that is within my reach.

Taking my blog to the next level is within my reach. I am the one holding me back, but I’m gonna start to research putting ads on my blog and doing some guest blogging. I plan to start looking for a new job next year, that’s within my reach and a true hustle. Looking for a full-time job is no joke.

I’ve done so much in my life, lived in different cities, been married a few times, experienced joy, heartache, success and failures. Always within my reach has been my desires and plans, right there where I can grab them. Just there, still reaching for my goals, expanding my horizon. I always ask God to challenge me, when I’m settling or having a hard time in a situation. I keep reaching, even at this time in my life when I’ve been struggling lately. I don’t give up hope or trying to reach those goals.

My husband has been a wonderful friend, love and partner. He has challenged me to reach beyond my normal aspirations. Sometimes I feel he reaches out of my comfort zone, but it’s always with our plans in mind. Comfort zones and security is something I always keep within my reach, I’ll admit that. I have always wanted to have a secure life, haven’t been much of a risk taker when it comes to finances. I’ve been blessed with good jobs, so when I agreed to relocate to St Louis in 2010 I was out of my comfort zone, but I needed a change.

Loving my hair in it’s natural texture is within my reach. I am totally enjoying the transformation of watching my hair grow and embrace it’s texture. It has really grown this year, very proud of it. I know, it’s not for everyone but it’s perfect for me.

Being happy is also with our reach, and I chose to be happy. That’s very important. Happiness, love, truth, security, family, career are well within my reach….and I’m good with that.

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Filed Under: Health & Wellness, Lifestyle Tagged With: family, happiness, life, marriage, natural hair

Going With The Flow

November 16, 2012 by Whitney 19 Comments

Sometimes life is so hectic, you just feel like going with the flow, know what I mean? I can be a bit uptight during stressful times, and I find that when I chill out, breathe and just forget about it, my nerves ease and I have a clear thought process. The holidays have literally snuck upon us, and it’s time to plan all the holiday activities. This year, I’m going with the flow, not gonna drive myself crazy and stressed out, I did enough of that this past summer. Thanksgiving dinner is gonna be a small version of what we had last year. We always waste food, and this year my husband and I both agreed (yay) that it wasn’t worth all the work to waste all that food. That’s flowing and I love it. I will extend an invitation to my oldest brother and his family, but they will probably be doing their own thing.

I’m loving the flow of things right now. I will probably change a few things, step up my blogging by doing some ads, do some guest blogging, but I love blogging. Me, my thoughts and my computer. I’m getting better on the technical side, still have a lot to go, but I’m working it. I would like to make a little more money, so I am considering my options for next year regarding employment. My family has gotten very comfortable with me being home, but they do forget that I still work from home and they will come and interrupt me while I’m working. That usually only happens on the weekends, that’s why I try to work during the week, and my required 5 hours for the weekend. One of the reasons I’m considering finding a job is I don’t like working weekends. It’s only 5 hours and I split them for both days, I just don’t like my giving up my weekends. Going with the flow until things change.

My neighborhood is very quiet, mostly retirees. It’s a mixture though, children my girls’ age. The house across the street is a home for special needs young men. When they first moved it, I thought it would be a problem, but they have been there around 5 years and they seem to have things flowing pretty good over there.

As we approach the next 6 weeks, let’s take it easy and go with the flow….please don’t fight in the lines if you go out for any of the “Black Friday” sales, they will have more of that particular item later. Let’s get along with family, friends and co-workers. I know they can wear your nerves, but let it go, don’t need the stress.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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Filed Under: Currently, Lifestyle Tagged With: holidays, life, random, stress, work

What’s Brewing At The Mocha Cafe

September 14, 2012 by Whitney 2 Comments

It’s Friday, fall is coming in strong now and it’s time to get ready for fall activities and crafting. Yep, I have a few crafts I love, just don’t have the time. Here are a few things I want to stir up in my coffee today….

Grandma in Keene, TX that refused to give her drivers license and insurance card to the police officer. I admit that maybe he should have requested backup when she refused to get out of the SUV, pulling her out of the vehicle didn’t look good. BUT…if you are pulled over by a police officer for any reason and they ask for your identification, you better give it to them whether you are 16 or 77. I have a pet peeve about people that believe they are above the law. We were raised to respect the law and do what they request of you. My daddy made sure my brothers and nephews really understood that. We didn’t let my daddy drive after one scary evening on the highway when he almost killed himself and many people during rush hour traffic. We just took the keys, he was mad but we had to explain that it just wasn’t safe anymore.

There was a mom in Utah that had her twin daughters on potty seats at the deli while people were eating. You know, what happened to people and using common sense? This is not acceptable, nope…sorry. I remember potty training and I was one that didn’t potty train until after they were both two. I just didn’t rush them, but I would have never thought it would have been ok to bring the potty seats in a restaurant while people were eating. The picture the woman in the restaurant took, the baby was sitting there with nothing on. The restaurant claims they didn’t notice. Right.

I bought a new microwave oven on August 7th. On Monday, September 10th, the Sharp microwave decided it wanted to do it’s own thing. My daughter was warming up breakfast and she closed the door and it started working on it’s own and hasn’t stopped. We had to unplug the darn thing. I called Sharp and they are sending us another one. I didn’t realize how much we depend on our microwave. Any leftovers had to be put in the oven or warmed up in pots, like back in the day. We had this microwave one month, can’t wait for the new one.

I finally have cable TV in my office now….try watching TV with an antenna that half the time the signal was weak. I only wanted basic so I can watch HGTV, MSNBC and have a decent signal, although Time Warner doesn’t offer DIY. Funny, we were trying to cut cost, so we got basic cable on all the TV’s except the big TV in the family room/man cave but that didn’t work because all of our TV’s are HD so the pictures were fuzzy on them. Had to go and get cable boxes for all the TV’s except for the one in my office, didn’t really need it. Much better, although each box is an extra $9.95 per month. They getcha coming and going, don’t they?

It really doesn’t take much to make me happy. Hope you all have a great weekend.

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Filed Under: Currently, Lifestyle, The Mocha Cafe Tagged With: life, random, rant

Calm In the Middle of the Storm

July 30, 2012 by Whitney 2 Comments

Hope you all had a great weekend. I finally found some peace throughout all this madness I’ve been going through. It was simple, my situation isn’t as bad as it could be. I am blessed to have a home to move to. Things can be replaced, relationships can be repaired. I needed that reminder. I went to church yesterday, my last service at Shalom Church ~ City of Peace in Florissant, MO. Service was awesome, I’m gonna miss being a member of this church.

Don’t you hate it when you get all worked up about something, when you know there’s nothing you can do about it? It’s the human side of us, the way we react to situations. I’m glad I was able to recognize that I needed to calm down, breathe and keep going. I was a mess last week, because of the stress of moving. It’s almost like I took medication or something to calm me down, which I probably needed. I just have to remember that bad things happen to good people all the time, can’t sweat the small stuff.

I was invited to be a guest blogger at MyBlogalicious and my post was featured yesterday, go check me out please and leave a comment. It was a great honor and privilege to have a opportunity to write for them, thanks to Krystal Grant for the invite. Just when you think no one is paying attention, they are. Be prepared for anything life brings, it’s an amazing journey. Be blessed and have a great week.

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Filed Under: Inspirational, Lifestyle, Relationships Tagged With: blessings, blog challenge, life, stress

What Ever Happened To Common Courtesy?

April 19, 2012 by Whitney 10 Comments

I was working today and assisting my customer with their request. She mentioned to me that she had been in the hospital. I, being the trained Customer Service professional that I am, expressed concerned and asked how she was doing. She answered my question and I continued with her request. When I finished helping her and ended our conversation, I heard her say to whomever she was talking to that I was more concerned with her being in the hospital than helping her. She was snide and kept commenting until the line was cleared. Really lady? Haven’t you ever heard of common courtesy?

It made me think about how we are in such a hurry with our busy lives that we don’t take the time to be courteous to one another. If you work in any type of business that comes in direct contact with people, then I feel your pain. I observe people all the time in a hurry, or just plain old mean for no reason. I know most of us don’t intend or try to be rude to one another, but sometimes we need to slow down and acknowledge one another.

It happens with church members too. I don’t know a lot of people personally at my new church, but I do recognize faces. I see them all the time when I’m out shopping, associate ministers, ushers, choir members, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I know you can catch a person at a bad time, but I have seen several church members be completely rude to people and don’t recognize their surroundings. The pastor at my church in Kansas City used to tell us this all the time in leadership meetings. I was the president of the choir, and as a leader in the church, I was always conscience of my surroundings and how I conducted myself in public. I was a mature, middle aged woman so I knew how to act when I was out. I would see people all the time and they would tell me they belonged to the church and saw me singing in the choir. I was always approachable, and took the time to hold a brief conversation with that person.

Am I Miss Social all the time? Of course not, but I do try my best to be courteous to my fellow neighbor. When I’m out walking in the mornings, I speak to everyone that I pass. If you have a cute dog, I’ll stop and pet your dog. Sorry, don’t do cats. Let’s try to be nice to each other, be courteous and show a little respect. Take care.