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A quick read and guide to the CA propositions. Don’t Forget to vote!!!

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I am just gonna leave this one right here #nocaptionnecessary

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A personal piece on Medium regarding family separation and the immigration crisis

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Leading up to the #familiesbelongtogether march tomorrow, here is what the Executive order does and doesn’t do.

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Explained.

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Having remained off-air as I worked through some of my own personal emotions regarding the present family separation crisis at our border - I am ready to jump back in with a few interesting reads for context.

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So cool!

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God Kisses

I have a wise friend who always asks us to share the ways God has kissed us recently. She means, what are the little things or big things that you have seen or felt from God lately? For those non-believers, you may call these things coincidences or serendipity. For those not engaging actively in a Christian community, this might seem like a strange question to ask someone. But most of us, regardless of what we believe have cried out to the universe or something bigger than us for understanding. The “Why God?” moment. Many of us want answers, affirmation, or understanding about why things are the way they are. We are a society and a people that want answers. If you want them from God, you might be frustrated often. If you are honest you probably think God sends messages by opening clouds, burning bushes, or striking lightening bolts. (BTW, All of which he has used in the past.) However, more often, God speaks through others, or comes close and whispers to you like in 1 Kings 19.

We believe God speaks to you in intimate ways, in your own special language. Like a secret club to which only you and Him have a membership - with signature handshakes and everything. We believe He has a sense of humor, and we believe that His messages can be small like butterfly kisses or grand like someone sweeping you off your feet and hugging you, never letting go. His presence can be encouraging or correcting. Whatever his message is, it is right on time, exactly what you need, and meets you exactly where you are.

Today, I got a God Kiss. On the Route 7 #bigbluebus to Santa Monica, God met me and encouraged me in a special way. He told me He was with me, and He blew wind into my sails.

Sitting on the bus, I opened my Girls with Swords book to a section titled “Choose to live as a stranger in this land.” I began to read about how as a Christian, I am just passing through this world. My roots are grounded in Christ from which I draw life and respond by giving to the world around me. As this concept settled in and I reflected on what it means to be a stranger on the bus, in LA, in this world - a song I had never heard began to play through my Spotify radio. It was in Spanish, and my soul fluttered at the beauty of the woman’s voice. The song rang out “Solo soy una extranjera en esta gran ciudad” - translation: I am just a stranger in this big city. It goes on to say, “If I lose my way, if I encounter barriers, I will still be the protector of my flag.” The song was called “Extranjera” or Stranger.

God kissed me today. He said to me, “you are a stranger in that big giant city. You sound weird, you look weird. You were made to stand out. But, remember you have a homeland. You have a people. You have a purpose and a mission in that strange land. If you get confused and lose your way, if you come up against the enemy or obstacles, just remember you bear the flag of your eternal home. You wear your destiny on your chest. You are protected, my daughter. My fleet and army surround you. You might be a stranger, but you do not go alone.”

He spoke to me in Spanish, on my bus, on the way to work, through Spotify’s Cafe con Leche playlist. He spoke to me personally, and intimately. He reached me just in time. He told me hold on, I am here with you. I care about you, and I haven’t left you.

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Win the Day

Another post in the #intentionLA chronicles. Last week was a tough one. I know everyone has had a moment when you just feel stuck. If you haven’t had that moment, please leave a comment and tell me how you are doing life so stupendously. I, on the other hand, declared on Sunday that I felt like my whole life was just happening TO me. Which for a control freak like me, is NOT a good look.

Post-emotional breakdown, nap, and froyo recovery, I was scrolling mindlessly through Instagram, and I came across one of those ads that I would normally curse for getting in the way of my feed. The ad was for Best Self Co. They were selling a “Self Journal”. Looking back, I am not at all sure what led me down the rabbit hole, I guess whatever else was on the Gram that day did not impress. 

ICYMI - The Self Journal is basically a planner designed to be driven by your goals. It takes into account the neuroscience behind motivation and the industry’s best time management techniques and couples it with a super sleek intuitive design. All of this magic comes together to supposedly help you “Win the Day”. I wanted to Win the Day, but I first had to Win the Husband.

My husband had spent all day at a Google Sprint workshop, so when I presented the idea, he was PRIMED for this new way to organize our life. #thanksGoogle. So much so, in fact, that we stopped at Staples to print out two copies of the journal (official free PDF) because he wanted one too. My mother pointed out that I should be super grateful for a man who runs to the store on a Monday night to print copies of new journals and then sits and drinks espresso with me while we brainstorm our goals together. I was like, “I know mom, that’s why I marrrried him - DUH!” He is a real life person. I am super blessed to have him. #dontsettle #emotionalbarf.

So we filled in the journals for our first 13-week sprint. We also accidentally stayed up too late doing it, but today we still woke up feeling more rested and ready for our day. I don’t yet know if we are going to #wintheday, but what I do love about the journal is how much it integrates principles of positivity and self love. Each day it prompts you to do a morning and evening routine that include gratefulness affirmations and reflection. It is highly customizable to cater to each person’s motivations. AND it doesn’t come pre-dated, it’s designed to fill in as-you-go. You will never have punitive blank pages staring back at you telling you that you failed at life. <---Cuz nobody needs that.

Anyways if you want to join us in the Best Self Journal life, get yourself one, or if you are commitment averse, download and print the file fo’ free. Ultimately, we hope that by taking back our day we can better use the precious resource of time. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Intentionally,

C.O.

Disclaimer - Best Self Co did not pay me to write this. Words are my own. But if they want to send me free journals - I will gladly provide my shipping address.

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Get rid of all the things - okay, not all of them.

As part of our #intentionLA journey, my fancy new husband and I decided we had too many things. #firstworldproblem, am I right?! One night, out of disagreement and desperation, we watched a Netflix documentary called The Minimalist. And we both felt super convicted. We paused the documentary multiple times and just stared at each other awkwardly and knowingly - the closets were whispering at us menacingly. After we moved in together and cleaned up the wedding madness, we realized our closets weren’t just stuffed with instruments and power tools (aka legitimate ways to make a living). They were exploding with clothes that didn’t fit well, redundant electronic chords, and LOTS of knick-knacks and doo-dads.

We started down the journey of intentionality by making a legitimate decision about everything we owned. We used a rule - “Does this item serve a legitimate purpose or have sentimental value?” Then we made three piles. 1) Keep and Organize 2) Donate 3)Trash. What we started that night has turned into a way of life for us. We haven’t stopped evaluating our items using that question - including any additional purchases we make. It is so interesting that something we thought we couldn’t live without 3 months ago, is now headed to the donation pile.

The beautiful side effect of this process has been more gratefulness. We are more grateful for everything we have, and for our apartment that is much more functional now. When we open our closets, we are grateful that everything fits - and we can also get ready faster! I challenge you to go through this process with your significant other, or with a good friend who can hold you accountable. We all need a little more gratefulness and a little more freedom in our lives - and this is a super tangible way to start getting it! Be intentional about what you purchase and what you own. It is so freeing to look around and know that you are surrounded by things that you know add value to your life.

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So many ideas here - whether you are male or female, I think there is something on this list you could DO today to make this world a more livable place for all - especially for women. 

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Just for fun - mood.

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Intentional in LA

This year marks lots of new things - and really an entirely new lifestyle. This will be my first year living fully combined and connected to another person - my husband. Those two words still feel really weird to say.

Our word for the year is intentional. In the spirit of community, and since I have been trying to be more intentional about writing, I will be blogging about our intentionality journey here. Follow along with #intentionLA

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#midtermmillenials breaking down #partyduality 

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POLL: 71% of Millennials Want to End Two-Party Duopoly

NBC News/GenForward poll

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Josh Coe Music - New Song. Check it out!

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WTF are essential oils?

If you have been awake and breathing for the past few years, someone has probably approached you about essential oils. Either they want you to buy them, or they are raving about how they changed their life. You probably thought, WTF is the big deal? Leave me alone with your shady schemes! and Why are they so effing expensive?! Full disclosure, I am of those people that says those things. I am not a doctor, and I can’t claim to know the exact science behind "why” they work. But this is why I use them, and why I encourage you to give them an honest try.

The snoring had to GO

When I started my oil journey, it was literally to get my fiance to stop snoring. I feared we wouldn’t make it to our wedding day if The Lord didn’t deliver him from his freight train snoring. He had snored his WHOLE life with no relief (He had even had surgery years before with no results!). He also suffered from chronic sinus issues. With my amateur medical degree (14 years of watching Grey’s Anatomy - obvi), I determined the two things were connected. Not really an Einstein moment. But this simple, chronic, health issue was the thing I would do anything to fix. I remembered I had a friend on FB who was ALL ABOUT oils (you know who I’m talking about), so I googled some stuff, got one those vapor thingies (a diffuser), and drove my Prius to Whole Foods 365 (OMG, so LA) to buy some of this magic juice.

We took our relationship (with oils) to the next level

We made a few changes - essential oils and a new pillow - and we saw a ridiculous improvement. We immediately wondered what else we were missing out on in life?! What else could these magic potions do? We started integrating the basics into our life - at first, all over the counter essential oils from Whole Foods - and the improvements in our sleeping, health, energy were undeniable. This is when we decided that we were ready to take our relationship with EO’s to the next level - financially. I knew a lady (actually, she was a good friend) and she hooked it up. Starter Kit FTW!

We were ready to buy the good sh*t

Essential oils are not cheap, and most people who do multi-level marketing aren’t making any money from it. We never planned to make it into a business. We just wanted to horde all of the magic potions for ourselves at a cheaper rate. Even with the wholesale discount, these bad boys are a serious investment. However, we had the luxury of a bit of disposable income, and we couldn’t be those people that complain that something good for us is too expensive, while we pay for so many things that are not good for us (Our Netflix, Fancy Cocktail, Truffle Fries game is strong!) I think this was maybe our first real financial decision as a couple (awe!).

Life is effing hard

Last year, we got married. I was never one of those “dream about my wedding” girls. I just wanted something quick and simple with God, my best humans and whiskey pickle backs (what? you’ve never had one? look it up and thank me later). Wedding planning was hard - even though we are both professional project managers. Essential oils literally got us through endless strife about finances, family, and wedding clothes being delayed by political unrest in Nigeria (wait, that didn’t happen to you?). They have been the back drop to some of our most important conversations and some of our first decisions as husband and wife. They have also added flare to some of our favorite recipes including cocktails - which we mostly make at home now.

When life gives you lemons, make lemon essential oil

Or buy the essential oil, and put it in your water and drink it. Or put it in your diffuser and sniff it. Honestly, we believe that everyone has a purpose on this earth . And YOUR purpose is too important not to be operating at your most optimal self. That’s why we live the #OilyLife. (you can’t write a social media post without a hashtag).

Shameless plug: HMU if you want the good sh*t. Or if you want samples. Or if you want to come over for EO infused cocktails. Or if you just want to ride in my Prius to Whole Foods and get Cold Pressed Juice. I’m Down.