Stop Body Shaming Yourself

Sometimes I hear people say things about themselves that are not flattering ie, my stomach too big, I feel bloated, I don't have a butt, I need to lose weight, I don't like how I look, etc. I use to be guilty of that too. The more I focused on what I thought was wrong with me, the worst I felt. Not only that, it seems like no matter what I did to try and fix it, my efforts were in vain. Mostly because what I thought needed to be fixed was not broken. It was just the way I was. It wasn't like I could physically change what I thought was wrong without undergoing some sort of surgery.  

So I had to learn to start focusing on the stuff I liked about myself. In time I even learned to embrace my "flaws" as it were. Then I decided that they really weren't flaws at all. Everything about me is me. The things I considered flaws were what others conditioned me to believe were flaws. Who I am is no longer defined by what others think of me but more about how I feel about me. I learned to embrace and love everything about me - stretch marks and all. Truth is how you view yourself only magnifies how you think others view you. Stop being so hard on yourself.

They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. It all starts with you. Forget about what other people think is beautiful. Start a love affair with yourself and start flattering yourself with kinder words. Look yourself in the mirror and find something to admire about yourself. Resist the urge to say unflattering things about yourself even in jest. Your body reacts and respond to words just like your mind does. Just like how you don't like it when someone says anything bad to you, why do you think it is any different when you say it to yourself?

As you learn to love on yourself the most amazing thing will happen - your body will start to evolve. Every cell in your body will start reacting to that love. Before long your self confidence will improve. Then it will happen. One day you will look in the mirror and the only thing you will see is beauty staring back at you.

Let's face it, what we consider to be beautiful and flawless was shaped by what we see on TV or on the cover of a magazine. Anything less is considered unattractive.  Change your definition of "beautiful" to include yourself because you are just that - beautiful. I'm just saying. I got issues. What about you?)i( 

#igotissues #yahsdaughter863 #yaminah89 #ilovebnme #selfcare #selflove #bodypositive #nice #loveyourself #doyou #beautiful #beauty #ilikeme #flawsandall 

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USPS Operation Santa

Last Christmas was very challenging for us. My daughter split her time between her regular job and ubering to keep a roof over her children's head and to keep the utilities on. Knowing we were not going to be able to do Christmas gifts for the children, I hoped for something to give. Then in November I came across the information for USPS Operation Santa. It's where children write letters to Santa and mailed to an address in the north pole. Letters were collect by the postal service and uploaded to a designated website where people around the country could view and select a child's letter to fulfill. Never heard of it before so I shared it with everyone I knew including posting it here on this page. I then drove to my daughter's house and encouraged my grand children to write letters to Santa. They were so excited to do it as we've never done that before. We had a fun night of it. I gathered letters and dropped them in the mail. Hopeful that they would get selected.

As the holiday came to a close I figured that our letters did not make the cut. With no gifts for the children I resorted to telling them that Santa was practicing social distancing this year and only went to every 6th house on Christmas eve. Unfortunately their house fell between 1 and 5 but hopefully next year he will visit them. They seemed contented with that explanation but I kept holding out hope that something would come through for them.

Then yesterday (January 11th) as luck would have it, while I was visiting my grandchildren, the mailman came with two boxes from Amazon addressed to A'Layrah (7 of 7). At first my daughter was tripping thinking that somehow her 7 year old figured out how to order stuff off Amazon but as she opened the first box it became obvious that the stuff inside was exactly what the children asked for in their Santa letters. There was a card addressed to "the parent", inside was a handwritten note and some more welcome surprise. At this point it was apparent that someone did select the children's letters off the website. She quickly opened the other box which revealed more stuff for the children. The next day my daughter called to say another box came. This one had the toy kitchen that  A'Layrah wanted.  My daughter was overwhelmed with gratitude because the children received what they wanted for Christmas even if it was after Christmas. The boys received the video game and jackets they wanted while the girls received what they wanted. More on point A'Layrah received the princess dress and toy kitchen she wanted. There was even something for baby Novah.

To show how nothing escapes her attention, A'Layrah remembered what we said about Santa practicing social distancing and she decided that Santa mailed gifts to those 1 to 5 houses he missed on Christmas eve.

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank the person or persons responsible for putting a smile on my little people's face. On behalf of my daughter, the Jackson clang, and great granddaughter, thank you for your kindness. To the staff and coordinators of Operation Santa, thank you for all your efforts to ensure that children all around the country received something for Christmas. We are so grateful. I'm just saying - I got issues. What about you?)i(

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#USPSOperationSanta #igotissues #yahsdaughter863 #yaminah89 #grateful #thankyou #gifts #christmas2020

US Capital Under Siege

 

www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/us-capitol-lockdown/index.html

I am watching the evening news about the events that unfolded at the capital today in disbelief. It is unbelievable that people are trying to disrupt our democracy claiming that if Biden go into office we will become a communist country. When Trump won we accepted it and rolled with the tide. Now that Biden won it is being met with great resistance. That Trump could instigate this event is proof of how far people will go to keep him in office despite the fact that he has been voted out.

Interesting to note is that when thousand of white people violently breech the US Capital because they don't want the electoral votes to be counted it is called a "protest".  But when black people quietly walk in protest of police brutality, it is called a "riot".

Shots fired, one woman killed and over a dozen arrested and still it is being labeled a "protest".

I have never witness anything like this. Trump needs to go. There is no telling how much more violent acts he will incite before January 20th. I'm just saying, I got issues. What about you?)i(

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#riot #rioting #uscapital #TrumpLost #truth #igotissues #yahsdaughter863 #yaminah89 #Unruly #AmericanPeople #America #shameful

Georgia Senate Run-Off Elections

Today, January 5^th 2021, all eyes across the country are on Georgia because of the senate run-off elections. And it’s no wonder as this election will determine what party rules the senate. For months various entities have been encouraging voters to cast their votes, whether through early voting, absentee ballots, or voting on January 5^th in person. Back in November, the state made a historic switch from a red state to a blue state thanks to the efforts of Stacey Abrams and other local organizations who launch a campaign to increase voter turn out. As a result President Elect Joe Biden won the presidential election. With 2 seats up for grabs, the pressure is on for Georgia.

The candidates:

On the Republican side we have:

Sen. Kelly Loeffler who was appointed (not elected) to the senate by Governor Brian Kemp after Sen. Johnny Isakson retired. She took office on January 1, 2020. As a multi-millionaire, recent ad campaigns highlights her inability to relate to the middle class and/or poor residents of Georgia. That she dumped stocks amidst the outbreak of the virus, is one of the leading issues.  However, the biggest issue I have with her is that she is seemingly out of touch with the plight of the poor and middle-class and cannot relate to what they need. It is safe to say that as a multi-millionaire, she has no clue what it means to not have health insurance, juggling to pay bills or being one paycheck away from losing everything, which by the way, many Georgians have experienced as a result of the virus. But truth be told there are many who were having a difficult time way before the pandemic became an added factor.  Her rebuttal campaign ads seems to focus more on disputing that she did anything wrong more so than what she plans to do to help the residents of Georgia.  Furthermore, she spends a lot of time trying to discredit her opponent Rev. Raphael Warnock. What she fails to realize is that the issues she highlights about Rev. Warnock bear little to no weight on swaying the poor/middle class from supporting him, especially since it is clear she is using his sound bites out of context.   

Sen. David Purdue who is a business man and has been a Georgia senator since 2015. He has had more than enough time to show his worth, but like Sen. Loeffler, he too is wealthy and seems to be out of touch with what the poor and/middle-class need. My biggest issue with him is that he refused to attend the senate debate. What was he afraid of? What makes him think that he is above answering to the people? His actions came off as a downright snob of Georgia voters.  Especially since he too was accused of dumping and buying stocks after a senate briefing about the pandemic. He too ran ads proclaiming his innocence. In fact one campaign cited “that he was not even there during the senate briefing.” Yeah, like that precludes him from having access to the sensitive information which he then used to determine which stocks to buy/sell. Moreover, what did he have to do that was so pressing that he missed a senate briefing? Such a lame excuse if you ask me. Another fear factor that Sen. Purdue is using to sway votes is his claim that if the democrats win the senate the country will see defunding of the police department, court docket backed up, and private health care get taken away. So in his words, “we have to save America.” Really? His statement is equivalent to Trump's "let's make America great again" and shows just how little he thinks of our intelligence. Both Sen. Loeffler and Sen. Purdue claim they were acquitted/found not guilty of any wrong doing, but just because something is legal does not make it moral/right.

On the Democratic side we have:

Rev. Raphael Warnock is a pastor who by his profession has firsthand knowledge of the plight of the poor and middle-class. He has been called a “radical” and I agree. He is a radical for change. He looks at the issues that affect the poor and middle class and he wants to do something about it. What put him on my radar was an ad I saw back in October/November where he mentioned an issue that is a major concern to me. He spoke about the fact that many Georgia residents do not have health insurance because the state did not buy into the affordable healthcare act. Like myself, many Georgians who do not have a job, do not qualify for Medicaid thus have no health insurance. According to the state’s guidelines, the only way you can get medical assistance (Medicaid) is if you are 65 or older, disabled, or have a small child.  That leaves a lot of us struggling to find creative ways to stay healthy. If the state accepts the affordable healthcare act, residents will be able to have some sort of health insurance.  If you are old enough to have Medicare then you will also qualify for Medicaid under the affordable Healthcare act. That is huge!!

Jon Ossoff is a documentary film producer and investigative journalist who is running for the senate.  He too has been the subject of negative campaigns which insinuates that he is in bed with the Chinese. He is also accused of lying to congress about his dealing with a company in China. Again, what the opposing party does not get is that for many of us everything pales in comparison to what President Trump has been allowed to get away with.  What is important is his wiliness to change things for the better for Georgia residents. He stands firm on the issues that are important to the poor and middle class, i.e., affordable health care, police reform, containing the virus, etc.

 

Conclusion

We are not afraid to take a chance on Ossoff and Warnock because If any elected senator fails to do what they were elected to do, we will just vote them out in 2 years. There is absolutely nothing they can say to me right now that will sway me from voting Democrat in this election. Claims that voting democrat will somehow diminish the country is false and you should not listen to them. We have so much to gain. So if you did not vote in the early election or via absentee ballot, I encourage you to go out today and make your vote count. Vote like your life depends on it because it very well may be.  I’m just saying. I got issues – what about you? )i(

#warnock #ossoff #perdue #loeffler 

#igotissues #youcandoit #yahsdaughter863 #yaminah89 #vote #georgiarunoff #georgia #USSenate 

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WAPA's Attorney Racist Rampage

So I got word today about WAPA's Atty, Mark Kragel, who recently posted some racist comments on his fb page. I heard he litterally said f$@# #blacklivesmatters along with some other derogatory comments. I also understand that this is not his first offense.

While I can respect his right to share his opinion, VI residents also have the right to offer backlash through comments and/or boycotting his business as well as expecting WAPA to do something about it.  He has no business representing the VI in any capacity if that is how he feels about us. We are predominantly people of color and have fought tooth and nail to exist on these islands without racial discrimination.

One of the few things I enjoyed while growing up on the island was that there was no racial tension. All races coexisted peacefully. In fact I was never more aware of my skin color until I moved to Atlanta. It is here that I encountered racial prejudice for the first time in my life. It was here that my then 13 year old daughter came face to face with hate when 3 white boys threatened to hang her if she did not go back to where she came from. No doubt they meant Africa in their ignorance. It was tough trying to console my daughter while explaining to her why people who did not know her wanted to do her harm based solely on the color of her skin.

In a time where racial tension is high across the nation, there is no room for people in high positions to be adding to the flames with reckless comments. We as virgin islanders should have no tolerance for this type of ignorance. It is your money that pays his salary. So if he has no respect for us as a people, which is clear by his comment, then you should not support his business. The people of the VI deserve better. WAPA should know better. WAPA should do better. They can not look the other way because it "was a personal comment" and not delivered in an official capacity. We have been held hostage for way too long because of their monopoly, i.e., only electric company in the territory. So they have no motivation to do right by us, but we can still send a message with our voices, with our post, and with our votes. If WAPA really stands behind their slogan - "working for you" then they will do the right thing.

I am so sick and tired of people thinking it's okay to say whatever they want without any fear of repercussions or consequences. Then only making a retraction or half ass apology when or if it affects their pocket or bottomline. I am sure if we put our minds together we can come up with a way to pressure WAPA to do something about Mark. We are not completely helpless in this situation. Sure we need WAPA but they need us too. They depend on your payments just like you depend on their service.

Something has to give. How long will we continue to let people who have no use for us short of using our money to line their pockets get away with treating us like second class citizen? The time to act is now. The time for change is now. The time to do away with bigotry is NOW. I'm just saying - I got issues. What about you?)i( 

#blacklivesmatters #wapavi #usvi #racist #notolerance #igotissues #yahsdaughter863 #yaminah89 #wakeup #consciousness #consciousthinking #bethechange #stopthehate #blackpeople #blackmen #questfortruth #imatter #black #peopleofcolor #speakup #knowledgeiskey 

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Juneteenth - Real or Memorex

Juneteenth - never heard of it til yesterday during a conversation with my daughter. We were discussing her son's pending graduation for today. Then this morning I received a few text messages wishing me a happy Juneteenth.

While speaking with a friend earlier today the topic came up again. Where this come from and who decided to call it Juneteenth? There is nothing in the name that suggest abolishment or freedom for that matter. My friend decided to Google the teenth since we already determined that June was the 6th month of the year.

According to Wikipedia: "A sixteenth is a measure of mass, often of drugs, and is shorthand for a sixteenth of an ounce, or 1/256 of a pound, 1 avoirdupois dram, or 1.77 grams. Not to be confused with shorthand name 'Teenth' an abbreviation for 'Juneteenth', a period of time in June that was connected to the End of Slavery for many Black people in 1865 and also associated in misfortunate irony to the massacre occuring in Black Wall Street at Tulsa Oklahoma that occurred in 1921. The period of recognition and mourning occur between June 19-21 every year." Interesting.

How come I've never heard of it before now? Flipping through my Google calender on my phone, the first time Juneteenth pops up is June 19, 2018. Nothing before but every June going forward. Interesting.

Seems odd that this movement was adopted in Texas in 1980 and only now being focused on. Can't help but feel this is yet another attempt to distract from the nationwide protest of the killing of unarmed people of color or it could be a clever ploy to shed light on an otherwised ignored event. I mean 150 years is a long time for it to only now be making it's way into the spotlight.   Do you have any recollection of any civil activist, ie Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, etc. talking about Juneteenth? I'm just saying - I got issues. What about you?)i(

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T-Mobile Network Outage

Woke up yesterday to no phone service - so inconveniencing. I tried calling #tmobile customer service to no avail.  First call was met with a recording that they were experiencing technical difficulties and advised customers try their call again later. Other call attempts were met with "all circuits are busy". Then subsequently calls would fail to process all together - calls would just not go through. Sporadically I got notifications that I had voice mail but could not access them either. 

I would later learn that it was a country wide network outage. Perhaps it was a necessary outage for them to implement the widely anticipated 5-G platform/network they have been raging about.

Anyway, just before midnight I got a slew of text messages from people complaining that their calls to me were not going through. Based on greeting I ascertain they were sent earlier in the day. I called customer service today to request a credit for the no service period and the rep was very apologetic and more than happy to offer a credit to my account for the inconvenience.

I know a lot of people probably thought their phone was the issue and tampered with the settings. So I made a suggestion to the customer rep for upper management. I figured they became aware of the network outage at some point. Perhaps they could use the same or similar platform that state authorities uses to send out mass Amber alerts or curfew reminders to cell phone users in the event something like this happens again. They can use it to send a notice to let customers know the network is down.  This would really be helpful especially when customer service can not be reached. You may think this is impossible if the network is down but not necessarily. While the calling feature was impacted apparent emails and texting worked sporadically. Not sure how but it did.

I'm not sure if they will automatically apply a credit to customer's account since it was a network outage, so my advice is, if T-Mobile is your cell phone carrier, call them and request a credit for rhe day in question.  Better to call than get left out. I'm just saying - I got issues, what about you?)i(

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