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Today’s #MindfulnessMonday Tip: Feeling exhausted or just not yourself? Take a nap!
The Power of Napping:
Napping
can boost your immune system.
Napping
can improve both your daytime and your nighttime alertness.
Napping
plus a little caffeine boost are a one-two punch against sleepiness.
Napping
can help you learn new skills and improve your memory.
Napping
can improve your physical stamina.
Napping
for as little as 90-minutes is as good as a full night’s sleep for perceptual
learning.
Today’s Mindfulness Exercise:ENERGY BOOSTING NAP!
Studies show that taking a 10 to 20-minute nap in the middle
of the day can help boost your energy and get you right back in the swing of
thigs immediately after you wake up. Need a little memory jogger or are you focusing
on a big project with quickly approaching deadlines? A 60-minute nap is a great
way to increase focus and an excellent memory booster.
With that in mind, what type of nap do you need today?
I want you to allow yourself a little time, even if its
just 10-20 minutes in your car on your lunch break, to close your eyes and take
a nap. Napping gives your brain a reboot. When you wake up, you’re refreshed
and ready to get back at it. *Note: Make sure you set an alarm on your phone or
other devise to ensure you wake up on time.
Mindfulness Journaling:
Today’s mindfulness
journal is a two-part journaling exercise.
PART 1 – Prior to your energy boosting nap, write down how you’re feeling. What is your energy level on a scale of 1 to 10? Do you feel like you got enough sleep last night? How many cups of coffee have you had today and do you think you’ll have another?
PART 2 – After your energy boosting nap, write down how you’re feeling. Did you fall asleep quickly? Was it easy to wake up? Do you feel more or less productive after your nap?
Mindfulness journaling can be very
private. However, I would love to invite you to comment below and share your
experiences with the ‘Clean a Room Mindfully’ exercise.
Check out
my #MindfulnessMonday YouTube Series and don’t forget to click subscribe so you
never miss an episode!
I’m certified in Holistic Stress Management and Mind/Body Fitness. I’ve been practicing Mindfulness for 10+ years and am passionate about helping others in their pursuit of a more mindful existence.
When I was just a girl, growing up
in New Orleans, my mother told me, “If your good and quiet, you’ll be able to hear
the voices of your ancestors.” I was naive, so I believed her. I tried so hard.
Every day I’d sit in the corner of our living room, staring at nothing,
focusing on voices that weren’t there. Then, one day, I heard a voice. It was
faint, almost a whisper.
“The ritual won’t work if you don’t
spill a little blood, Clara.” It was my mother. She was talking to my Aunt
Clara on the phone, whispering in the kitchen.
That night, I followed them to the
graveyard just around the corner from our house. You wouldn’t believe me if I
told you what I saw; It’s been over twenty years and I still can’t believe it.
It doesn’t matter that I can raise the dead now too, much less talk to them. It’s
still so surreal.
You want to know the best advice I’ve
ever been given? That’s easy. That night, standing there in the dark hiding
behind a tree so my mother and my aunt wouldn’t see me, they brought my great
grandma back from the dead. She looked passed them, straight at me, pointed her
decayed finger at me and called me out of the dark. Then, standing just three
feet away from my mother, who’s mouth was clenched with fear and anger, my
grandmother told me, “It’s in your blood too, and child, you are powerful. Learn
from your mother. Learn everything, because one day she won’t be here to
protect you and you’ll need to know how to protect yourself.”
Alright,
now it’s your turn. I’d love to see what today’s writing prompt inspires in
you. So, if you are willing, go to the comment section below and start typing.
Take 5 minutes and let’s see what you come up with!
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
What books have made your August reading list? Check out the New York Times bestsellers for August 2019 by CLICKING HERE!
Are
you an author who is looking for ways to stay organized and on track with all
your writing goals? Check out my author workbooks below. They are full of all
the tools I use in my writing process!
Want help meeting your writing goals? Check out JUST WRITE: The Ultimate Author’s Bullet Journal a planner-journal hybrid to help new and experienced writers stay organized while still fostering creativity. Track your progress with daily/monthly word count goals. Plan your writing/publishing goals, manage your to do list, never miss another deadline or appointment again, keep track of writing ideas, schedule and log social sharing and blog post ideas, keep a record of books you’re reading or want to read, maintain a running playlist, etc.
Carol
Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught
in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.
IMDB STORY LINE:
After crashing an experimental aircraft, Air Force pilot Carol Danvers is discovered by the Kree and trained as a member of the elite Starforce Military under the command of her mentor Yon-Rogg. Six years later, after escaping to Earth while under attack by the Skrulls, Danvers begins to discover there’s more to her past. With help from S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury, they set out to unravel the truth.
MY 2 CENTS:
Writing/Story: ★★★ The Marvel Cinematic Universe is
finally introduced to Carol Danvers, played by Brie Larson. She learns about
her past, she discovers who she is, and she finds herself caught in the middle
of a war between two alien races and realizes she is more powerful than she ever
knew or thought possible.
Carol Danvers is the everyday woman turned female hero. In my opinion, we don’t have enough female heroes on screen so I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I understand that when the lead character doesn’t know anything about their past, it can be difficult to tell the story and portray that disassociation to the audience. With Carol Danvers, we learn about her past at the same time she does, through audio recordings and short flashes of things that happened in her past. It’s similar to when you’re reading a book and the author just word vomits all over you, telling you what happened instead of showing you. I wanted to see Carol physically discovering her powers, reacting to things instinctively, which would then lead to sparks of memories. Instead, more often than not these memories were brought on by the audio recordings, the short flashes of memory, and her visits with the Supreme Intelligence (played by Annette Bening) which is somehow supposed to tell her or show her what she most desires… I won’t even get into that because it was just a really strange plot line to me.
Honestly, for me, this was more of a Nick Fury movie…
It was my first experience really getting to know the Character of Nick Fury
and I thought Samuel L. Jackson did a great job with the role. I loved seeing the
younger version of Nick Fury since my only other experience with him was in Spiderman:
Far from Home earlier this year. Captain Marvel was more of a buddy cop movie
staring Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson. Or an amnesia self-discover movie…
or maybe it’s a fish out of water movie since she comes to earth and has no
idea how earth operates.
Cinematography ★★★ Visually, there just wasn’t much to talk about with this film. There isn’t a whole lot of style with this one. This film felt like a series of storyboard moments. The actors are intentionally framed, and their performing but there is no really remarkable style to speak of. That isn’t to say there aren’t good moments. There are. There are a couple really fun fight sequences and a cool slow-motion walk to the space craft, but other than that there just isn’t a lot of visual style to it.
Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI): ★★★★★ I have to say one of the most noteworthy aspects of this film was the CGI done to de-age Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson). Truly amazing CGI. If for no other reason than to see the stunning CGI work, this one is worth the TV rental fee. After the first scene or two, I stopped noticing and they seemed completely natural, which to me is the sign of a truly gifted CGI team. If you stop noticing the CGI and it starts blending into the rest of the film then you know they’ve done a great job.
Character(s)/Acting: ★★★ I felt like Brie Larson, although maybe not my choice for Carol Danvers, she did have some good moments. The chemistry between her and Samuel L. Jackson was fun to watch. They played nicely off of each other and the banter back and forth was very clever and entertaining.
Like
I said, Brie Larson wouldn’t really be my choice for Carol Danvers. It isn’t
because I don’t think she is a good actress, I do. I loved her in Room, and
honestly think she is fantastic in the right role. However, in this film she
just wasn’t the right choice. She doesn’t seem to fit the strong superhero persona.
Her acting style felt forced and she seemed stiff and uncomfortable in the
costume, and her movements were choppy, rather than fluid, during the fight
sequences.
Although
I felt like Lashana Lynch did a decent job at Maria, Carol’s best friend, there
just didn’t seem to be much chemistry between the two actresses. Sure, Carol
doesn’t have any memory of their friendship, but Maria does… There should have
been some sign of that internal struggle she would have been feeling having
lost her best friend, thinking she was dead for years, and then having her show
up on her doorstep. I just wish there had been more of an emotional connection
between the two of them. Without that, I just didn’t really care for the
characters.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE:
“I’m
not gonna fight your war. I’m gonna end it.” ~ Carol Danvers
Honestly, this is a pretty good superhero
quote and to me, probably the most superhero thing Carol Danvers says in this film.
TO SUM IT UP:
I
was more disappointed than I was entertained. The movie isn’t terrible… but it’s
not great… it just seemed to fall flat.
Have
you seen Captain Marvel yet? If you have let me know, in the comments below,
what you thought of it! As always, I do recommend seeing this film and finding
out for yourself what you think of it. My opinions might not line up with yours
and you might just love the film.
Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.
I have third degree burns down the right
side of my face and body. I’ve been in the Operation Atlas Treatment Center for
over a month and the doctors say I’ll be released in just under a week. The
average human would take months and multiple skin graft surgeries before they’d
be healed enough to leave. Not me, I heal quickly. It’s one of the many benefits
of being a metamorph.
Sure, without the surgeries I’ll
have scars, but I don’t care about the scars. I’ll wear them with pride, like a
badge of honor.
You see, I can do something not
many others can do. I can control fire, or at least I will once I get my powers
under control. I’m still learning.
Being an Incendiary is rare, but
being an incendiary with two of the three primary powers is unheard of. That’s
why Operation Atlas is taking such good care of me. I’m one of their elite.
Alright, now it’s your turn. I’d love to see what today’s writing prompt inspires in you. So, if you are willing, go to the comment section below and start typing. Take 5 minutes and let’s see what you come up with!
What are you recovering from right now?
What books have made your August reading list? Check out the New York Times bestsellers for August 2019 by CLICKING HERE!
Are
you an author who is looking for ways to stay organized and on track with all
your writing goals? Check out my author workbooks below. They are full of all
the tools I use in my writing process!
What does it mean to clean a room mindfully? It means to go slow, to appreciate each and every item in the room. As you clean, ask yourself how you feel about each item and what each item means to you. What emotions do you associate with each item as you pick it up, dust it, polish it, etc. Explore feelings of self-appreciation. Appreciate your physical ability to clean: the ability to bend, stretch, lift, and carry. How does the room feel when you’re finished cleaning? How do you feel?
Mindfulness Journaling:
After completing the ‘Clean
a Room Mindfully’ activity, describe how both you and the room have changed.
How do you feel now that the chore has been completed? How does the newly
cleaned room make you feel?
Mindfulness journaling can be very
private. However, I would love to invite you to comment below and share your
experiences with the ‘Clean a Room Mindfully’ exercise.
Check out
my #MindfulnessMonday YouTube Series and don’t forget to click subscribe so you
never miss an episode!
I’m certified in Holistic Stress Management and Mind/Body Fitness. I’ve been practicing Mindfulness for 10+ years and am passionate about helping others in their pursuit of a more mindful existence.
Alita is a creation from an age of despair. Found by the mysterious Dr. Ido while trolling for cyborg parts, Alita becomes a lethal, dangerous being. She cannot remember who she is, or where she came from. But to Dr. Ido, the truth is all too clear. She is the one being who can break the cycle of death and destruction left behind from Tiphares. But to accomplish her true purpose, she must fight and kill. And that is where Alita’s true significance comes to bear. She is an angel from heaven. She is an angel of death. Written byAnthony Harmon
MY 2 CENTS:
Writing/Story: ★★★★
This movie was Based on a graphic novel series by Yukito Kishiro. I haven’t read the graphic novel series so I can’t compare them to the movie. I’m just reviewing what I saw on screen and I personally think that James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis did an awesome job with the adaption and that Robert Rodriquez was exactly the right director to bring it to life.
Right from the start of the film, you are swept away in this mysterious, dangerous new world where nothing is as we know it today yet the societal struggles of class are all too familiar.
The only think I really had a problem
with was the unnecessary romantic storyline. I didn’t really believe the
relationship between Alita and the local boy who falls in love with her.
Cinematography: ★★★★★
I don’t usually call out the cinematographer by name, but this film was so much fun to watch and the imagery that Bill Pope gave us on screen was truly beautiful. The world created in this film is stunning and the effects are amazing!
The motor ball scenes which depict this
world’s sporting event are insane. Basically, the players go around a race-track
with a metal ball that they have to capture. Its violent and fast-paced, and so
exciting. As a movie goer, I was drawn right in.
The visuals in this world are insane!!!
The fight sequences are so exciting. I love a strong female character, but I do
think that Alita is a character than all movie goers can enjoy.
Character(s)/Acting: ★★★★
Rosa Salazar was fantastic as Alita and the special effects associated with her character were astounding. I will definitely be checkout out more of her work.
Christoph Waltz was good as Dr. Dyson Ido. You could really feel his fatherly love for Alita as well as his internal struggle with what he was doing just to survive.
I’m a Jennifer Connelly fan but with this film, I felt that her character was really under-utilized. There just wasn’t much character development with her character. I felt like they could have done so much more with her.
Mahershala Ali was another actor that just felt stagnant in this film. There wasn’t much to his character. He was a puppet and I felt like just about anyone could have played his role.
Keean Johnson who plays Hugo, Alita’s love interest, actually surprised me. No, I didn’t believe the romance between them, but he did a great job with his internal struggle. He so desperately wanted to get up to the upper world and will do, and has done, literally anything he has to do to get there. Then, when he meets Alita his starts to struggle with some of his decisions.
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“This is just a body. It’s not bad or good. That part’s up to you.” ~ Dr. Dyson Ido
“You’ve been given a chance to start over with a clean slate. How many of us get that?” ~ Dr. Dyson Ido
TO SUM IT UP:
Overall,
I loved this film. I’ve seen some less than flattering reviews on it, but I
really enjoyed it and think it was a lot of fun. Sometimes you really just want
a fun, strong, unstoppable character and that’s what you get with Alita.
Have
you seen Alita: Battle Angel yet? If you have let me know, in the comments
below, what you thought of it!
Check out my YouTube channel and the video
review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.
Complete this thought: “I wish an alarm would notify me whenever…”
I
wish an alarm would notify me whenever it was time to wake up and go to school.
I’m twelve years old and I haven’t been to school in almost two years.
I
miss it.
It’s
funny, when I was going to school every day, I hated it. Sure, I liked seeing
my friends and recess of course, but sitting in a class, listening to the
teacher talk all day… I can’t say I enjoyed that.
But
now, I miss it.
I
guess you always miss the things you can’t have; the things that are taken away
to early.
You
see, where I’m from, if they find out you have powers that can be useful to the
government, like mine, you’re carted away to the Operation Atlas headquarters. I’m one
of four watchmen with the power of telepathic perception. Basically, it is the ability to receive information from another mind. It’s more complicated
than that, but you get the picture.
I have alarms that wake me up, tell me when to eat, when to leave for work, when to sleep, and just about everything else. My movements are monitored and I can’t do anything out of order or without permission. For once, I’d love to sleep late, skip a meal, play outside, or just go to school.
There are times, first thing in the morning before I even open my eyes, that I forget where I’m at. I forget about the ten-foot by ten-foot whitewash room they keep me in. I forget that I’m not just another normal kid. Those first few seconds of the day are my favorite. But lately, they’ve been happening less and less. I think I’ve started to forget… forget my past, my friends, even my family.
Alright,
now it’s your turn. I’d love to see what today’s writing prompt inspires in
you. So, if you are willing, go to the comment section below and start typing.
Take 5 minutes and let’s see what you come up with!
Complete this thought: “I wish an alarm would
notify me whenever…”
What books have made your August reading list? Check out the New York Times bestsellers for August 2019 by CLICKING HERE!
Are you an author who is looking for ways to stay organized and on track with all your writing goals? Check out my author workbooks below. They are full of all the tools I use in my writing process!
Are you working on a manuscript, but need a little help getting organized? Check out SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A BOOK ~ An Indie Author Guide to Outlining and Planning Your Next Novel
Today’s
#MindfulnessMonday Tip: We can’t all meditate
at work, and that’s ok, but you can still take advantage of the benefits mindfulness
has to offer, like stress reduction and increased focus.
5 tips for bringing
mindfulness into your WORK life:
Be
Consciously Present – being consciously present means that you are aware not
only of what is going on around you, but also what’s going on within you. Mindfulness
can help you be consciously present in what you’re doing, while you’re doing
it, as well as managing your mental and emotional state.
Use
Short Mindful Exercises at Work – Finding time for a 30-minute mindfulness
exercise such as mediation can be hard a work, if not impossible. Does that
mean you can’t be mindful at work? Not at all. Mindfulness exercises can be as
short as just one minute, you don’t even need to close your eyes or be sitting down.
Be creative about finding time throughout your day to connect with your senses.
This process helps to tone down the fight-or-flight response we can feel when
stressed, engages your brain, and helps us focus on individual tasks to
increase productivity and reduce stress.
Be
a Single-Tasker – Multi-tasking is known to increase stress and reduce
productivity leaving us feeling more overwhelmed than necessary. Try focusing
on just one task at a time and keep a ‘to do’ list, adding items throughout the
day instead of moving from one task to another, so that you stay on track.
Use
Reminders to Stay Mindful – Until mindfulness becomes a habit in your daily
life, it might be helpful to set an alarm on your phone – even a vibrating
alarm that doesn’t disturb others while working – to remind you to take time to
practice mindfulness. One mindful reminder I really enjoy is the Breathe app on
my smart watch. It reminds me once every hour to take a minute and just
breathe.
Accept
What You Can’t Change – This one isn’t always easy at first. However,
acceptance lies at the heart of mindfulness. To be mindful means to accept this
present moment as it is. Once you are able to accept your current moment… your
current situation… you will be able to move past it and try and deal with the
situation. If there has been a mistake at work, accept that it happened… it can’t
be changed… Once you can accept the situation you can learn from the mistake and
move on. Acceptance leads to change where a lack of acceptance can lead to
avoidance and even aggression.
For the next thirty (30) minutes I want you to pick one
task – ONLY ONE TASK – and focus solely on that one task. When you find your
mind wandering to other things, jot down a quick note so you don’t forget then
move back to the original task.
Practicing single-tasking can help increase productivity,
improve focus, and reduce stress. You just might find this becomes your new preferred
working style.
Mindfulness Journaling:
How did you feel
completing your 30 minutes of single-tasking? Did you complete the task? How
many times did you find yourself becoming distracted with other tasks?
I’d love for you to
complete both the 30-minute single-tasking exercise and the mindfulness
journaling reflection once a day for two weeks. Studies show that with consistent
practice, your results will improve increasing your productivity and improving
your mental focus.
Check out
my #MindfulnessMonday YouTube Series and don’t forget to click subscribe so you
never miss an episode!
I’m certified in Holistic Stress Management and Mind/Body Fitness. I’ve been practicing Mindfulness for 10+ years and am passionate about helping others in their pursuit of a more mindful existence.
As an avid reader of fiction (and an author who one day hopes to make the list) I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE checking out the New York Times Best Seller list. So, here it is… The independently ranked top 10 Fiction selections for August 2019!
If you’ve read any of the TOP 10 selections and recommend them, please comment below and let me know. If you see something you like and plan to pick up a copy, you can do so by clicking on the title or the [BUY IT HERE] button.
#1 ONE GOOD DEED
by David Baldacci
A World War II veteran on parole must find the real killer in a small town or face going back to jail.
Nina Soden 