Every day, about 320 million Americans are told to social distance, wear masks, not to have parties, and not go anywhere if you are sick. Many Americans have dutifully been following the rules. Keeping others safe at all costs, right? A couple of weeks ago, I fell sick. I was over my sickness within 3 days. After I got better, my Dad came down with the same sickness. We thought it was a light cold. Nothing to worry about.
As time went on, my brother, sister, and mom all got the “cold” that was circulating in our family. About a week before my Dad got sick, he had a blood clot in his leg. We thought that was because of a long road trip we took. We were wrong. After 2 weeks, my Dad finally kicked the virus out of his system! He was ready to get back to work. To get back to work, he needed to take a Covid-19 test to make sure he didn’t have Covid. We weren’t worried because we were 95% sure we hadn’t had Covid.
My Dad went to get tested. He came back positive. We were kind of annoyed because he didn’t have any symptoms at all. 2 days later my Dad woke up with a stiff neck. We thought he had a tight muscle. The next day we took him to the emergency room. We were worried it had become a secondary infection. In the emergency room, they took his blood. His white blood cell count was 409,000. At max, it should be 11,000. The doctor told us it could be leukemia. We were praying and hoping that it was something else.
Some tests later, we were told it was ALL, a type of leukemia. Since you have to be quarantined for 10 days since the day you are tested, my Dad was not allowed to see anyone for the remainder of the 10 days in the hospital, not even his family. There are no exceptions. No family can see you. 1 day after entering the hospital, my Dad was starting chemo. By himself. No human touch or support was there with him (other than the nurses). From Wednesday to Tuesday my Dad was not allowed to see anyone. For one week he had to go through chemo all by himself. Sure, we did FaceTime, Zoom, and chats. We wanted to be there to encourage, uplift, and support OUR Dad who had been there every single time we were sick. On Tuesday of that week, we were allowed to see my Dad. My mom and I were the only ones allowed to see him because of age restrictions. It felt so good to see him, to know how he was doing, and to support him while he was going through chemo.
Chemo can sometimes take 6+ hours to go through. Some side effects of chemo are severe. Some effects can be shaking so violently you look like you are having a seizure, sores in your mouth, hiccups so bad you sometimes have a hard time breathing, throwing up, no appetite, hair loss, and easy bruising and/or bleeding. This is a hard time for my Dad. As of yesterday, 11/16/20, there are not going to be any more visitors allowed in the hospital. No family. Even if the family member is taking every precaution possible. I can’t go in even if I wear a mask, face shield, body covering, gloves, and any other type of PPE.
My reality of Covid-19 is different. For me, it’s a matter of possibly not seeing my Dad for a month plus. He won’t be home for Thanksgiving. I can’t even see him until the restrictions in Washington are lifted. The next time someone says that these restrictions are for the immunocompromised or people with chemo, remember my Dad, and how he is alone in a hospital room for his “good”.
Hey guys and this is a post I should have done earlier but life happens and at least I’m doing it.
So this month is my birthday, to be exact it is tomorrow and Walgreens gave me a 10X Walgreens cash booster that is on my account all month so I am using it and should get back 100 dollars to spend, I’ll update y’all Monday if it worked o follow my insta @couponing_is_fun for my live as I go through the store.
So here are the deals that I will be doing tomorrow.
Nexus. If you haven’t yet text unlock to 41456 and it should give you a $5 off $10 coupon which we will use on this purchase along with the $5 off coupon that will make this purchase $13.98 oop and I will be receiving $100 back with I can use in $50 two times. If you do this then you will receive $10 back unless you also have this 10x point for your birthday month.
Bic Soleil razor. Buy 2 at $5.99, use two save $3 off coupons from coupons.com pay $5.98 or $2.99 oop and get $2 back
Love beauty and planet. buy 2 love beauty and planet hair products at $6.99 each and use 1 $4 of 2 and 1 $2.50 of 1. Pay $7.48 or $3.74 each oop
L’Oréal Paris Elvive haircare. Buy 4 at $3.99, use 2 $3.00 off coupons from coupons.com and pay $9.96 or $2.49 each oop
Dove Antiperspirant . Buy 2 at $10 and use 1 $2.50 off and 2 $3 off 1 from 11/15 newspaper and pay $1.50 oop and receive 2 register reward back making it a $0.50 moneymaker
L’Oréal Paris Hair color. Buy 2 at $8.99 and use two $2.00 off and pay $13.98 oop
Colgate Total SF. Buy 2 Colgate Total SF Toothpaste at $3.99 use a $3/2 Digital and pay $4.99 oop and get $4.00 back making it $0.50 each and If the $1 Ibotta rebate is still available this will be FREE & a $1 MM!
All or Snuggle Laundry Care. Buy 1 All or Snuggle Laundry Care = $2.99 Use 1 $1 off 1 All or Snuggle Digital Coupon = -$1 Final Price: $1.99
Colgate Toothbrush. Buy (2) select Colgate Toothbrush @$4.99/ea = $9.98 Use $0.75/1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush = -$0.75 Pay: $9.23 Get Back: $6 Register Reward for buying 2 Final Price: $1.61 (Reg $6.49) or $3.23 for both
Arm & Hammer. Buy 2 Arm & Hammer for $6 use $1 off 1 Digital & $1off 1 (10/25SS) Final Cost: 2/$4 Or If deal is still available Buy 2 Arm & Hammer Clean & Simple no coupons Pay $6 (Can Pay With Walgreens Cash) Submit to Swagbucks for 1000 ($10) Final Cost: FREE & $4MM!
Nice Baggies . Buy 1 Get 2 FREE Just $2.69 for 3!
Spend $20 Get 5k points Booster Scenario: Colgate Deal: $7.98. Crest Deal: $11.97. Mentos: $0.99 Total: $20.94. $3/2 Digital. $5/3 Digital . Pay $12.94 oop. Get $5RR. Get $0.99RR. Get $4 Walgreens Cash. Get 5k points (Walgreens Cash) for booster. Final Cost: FREE & $2.05MM + if the Colgate Ibotta Rebate is still available you’ll get $2 more making it a $4.05 MM!
If you haven’t signed up for Ibotta what are you waiting for, when you sign up use my code niekqdu
Sign up for Fetch rewards and you will get points for every receipt you send in, when signing up use code 9CMDY and earn 2,000 points which is $2.00 free.
I had just woken up when my phone went off with a text from my boyfriend, Harry. We have been dating off and on for the past 2 years but now it seemed it was getting more serious as just last week we moved in together and we were seeing more and more of each other.
“All the love as always. H” he texts me. How adorable I thought. I went on to twitter to send my best friend Anna a screenshot of the text he just sent me when I noticed not a minute after I got the text Harry tweeted the same thing!
I called Harry up but he didn’t answer all I heard was his voicemail.
“Hey, sorry I can’t get to the phone, leave a message after the beep and I will call you back! Oh and Jess I love you.” I left him a message telling him that I love him more and that he better get home!
Harry was working, as always, but this time he was out of town, he was in Vegas. He told me that he had to go there to finish up the deal he had been working on for the past 3 years. He was opening up his 5th in the line of nightclubs he owned called Club Moore, so original I know.
I went to make breakfast when I heard the door to our apartment open then close.
Chapter 2
I grabbed a frying pan just in case I forgot to lock the front door and went out to the living room slowly and quietly.
“HARRY” I screamed, dropping the frying pan on my foot. “OUCH”
“Babe are you alright?” He asked with a worried look on his face.
“Yeah, it just hit my big toe so I’ll live. But you’re here! So I am gonna assume that you finished early and the text from earlier was just to throw me off.” I said as I walked into the bedroom to put Harry’s bags down that I picked up for him
“Yes I did and you don’t have to take my bags for me,” Harry said trying to grab the bags from me.
“Well I am going to no matter what you say, plus I wanna grab my sweatshirt from the bedroom anyway.” I was in the middle of December and I had forgotten to turn the heat on so when I woke up with only a tank top and an old pair of leggings on I was freezing, so while I was in the bedroom I grabbed a sweatshirt from my dresser drawer.
“Give me that,” I said as Harry grabbed the sweatshirt from my hand and started running away with it.
“Catch me if you can.” He said opening the front door to our apartment and running out into the hall.
“HARRY GET BACK HERE!” I said running after him. The neighbors heard us and they started to come out of their apartments and were laughing before going back in.
“Harry where is my sweatshirt?” I said as I finally caught up to him and realized that he dropped the sweatshirt in the apartment and was just running out here to get me to follow him.
“It’s in the apartment,” He said, “I threw it and you didn’t even know it.”
“Ok well, let’s go back in,” I said a little mad.
“Ok beautiful.” He said as I started to blush.
“Baby you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed. But when you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell. You don’t know, oh oh. You don’t know you’re beautiful. If only you saw what I can see, You’ll understand why I want you so desperately. Right now I’m looking at you and I can’t believe. You don’t know, oh oh. You don’t know you’re beautiful, oh-oh. That’s what makes you beautiful” He started singing which made me blush even more.
“Harry, stop it you making me blush,” I said as we were walking back to the apartment.
I reached for the doorknob to see that it was locked. I got mad then.
“HARRY LOOK WHAT YOU DID NOW!”
“I’m sorry babe, I didn’t mean too!” He said
“I know but now we are locked out of our apartment and it’s 7 in the morning and I am out here in a tank top and leggings and I am freezing. Now if you can handle it lets go over to the Office and get them to open it but first give me your jacket!” I was somewhat pissed.
Chapter 3
“How may I help you, Harry and Jess.” The guy in the office said with a smile on his face.
“Hey, Tyler, can you unlock the front door to the apartment I got us locked out?” Harry asked as nicely as possible.
“Yep, no problem, what Apartment is yours again?”
“13B.” I piped up and said,
“Thank you, Jess,” He said as he smiled bigger
“Let’s go get the apartment unlocked,” Harry said
We walked up a flight of stairs and Tyler unlocked our door.
“Thank you, Tyler,” I said
We walked in and I shut the door, waited a minute before I yelled at Harry.
“If you didn’t get up locked out then we would not have had to deal with that pervert.”
“I said I was sorry, now let’s not argue, I just got back from Vegas, and believe me I had no fun.”
“I do believe you. Now let’s have breakfast.” I said walking into the kitchen and Harry followed me humming a song by our favorite band One Connection. We loved all 5 members, Larry, Louis, Torry (the only girl), Neill, and Zen. They had such great songs before they broke up and went on. Tori and Zen got married and I was always a little jealous of her, and the others started a solo career.
“What ya gonna make, babe?” Harry asked as he sat on the bar stools in the kitchen.
“Nothing you are,” I said, handing him the pan that was in my hand and making him get out of his seat.
“That is not fair, I just got home from a long flight and I am tired,” Harry said.
“Oh it is more than fair, you probably slept on the 5-hour flight anyway, plus I am not feeling too well this morning,” I said leaving the kitchen and walking out into the living room and turning on the television.
Chapter 4
We got dressed because we had to meet my sister, Ciara and her fiance Jon, who was getting married today! She was a nervous trainwreck, worried that something was gonna go wrong to ruin her day.
“Ciara, nothing will go wrong. I promise that! I will make sure of it.”
“Thanks, Jess, are Jamie, Kyria, Kelly, and Sky here yet?”
“I am not sure, let me go look.”
“Ok. I’m gonna start getting dressed then.”
“It’s too early right now, have something to eat or drink at least.”
“Ok, then where is that bottle of wine that I thought I just saw?”
“I meant like water or coffee.”
“Fine!”
I walked out and saw them just arriving and looking confused on where to go.
“Over here!” I said loudly
“Hey, she is going crazy right now.”
“Yeah I bet when I called her this morning she was super stressed”
We walked into the room where Ciara was and saw her crying in the corner with the heel of her shoe in her hand.
“WHAT HAPPENED?” I asked.
“I… d…ont…know…it..was..in my …hand..and it just broke.” She said, trying not to cry.
“That’s alright let me get mom and she will fix it.”
I ran out into the wedding hall where mom and dad were along with Jon’s parents and a few other people.
“Mom, Ramona, I need you guys Ciara’s shoe broke,” I said frantically.
They followed behind me to her dressing room and mom said to Ciara.
“Honey, the shoes are meant to do that watch.” She said taking the shoe and heel and replacing it.
“I feel dumb. Thanks, mom. That’s what you’re for.” Ciara said laughing.
“Which, fixing things or making you feel dumb or both.” Mom said laughing which in turn made us all laugh also.
Ciara got dressed for about an hour later and the wedding started 30 minutes from then and it was just beautiful. Outside at the reception, I felt someone tap my shoulder and I turned around and saw Harry.
“Hey, babe,” I said kissing him.
“Hey, follow me for a second. We need to go to the front. Jon and Ciara want me to say something on the mic than you.”
“Ok,” I said as Harry grabbed my hand and we walked to the front where the dance floor and the microphone were. Harry grabbed the mic and talked for a few seconds then turned to me.
“Thank you, Jon and Ciara, for letting me do this.” He paused and looked at me, “Jess, I love you so much,” He kneeled and I knew what he was going to say.
“Will you marry me?”
Chapter 5
“YES HARRY I WILL,” I said as Harry put the ring on my finger. I then realized that I am the happiest girl in the world, also forgetting that we were at my sister’s wedding reception until everyone started to cheer and clap. I hugged Harry and whispered into his ear,
“I love you so much. You just made me the happiest girl alive.”
“I know I have. I love you too honey cake.”
“Ok don’t ever call me that,” I said slightly irritated.
“Sorry love.” He said with his adorable British accent.
We walked off the stage and sat down at our table next to my family. My mom who was sitting next to me said,
“Jess, congratulations I can’t believe that 3 of my daughters are engaged.” She started to cry so I grabbed a napkin and handed it to her.
“Thanks, mom. I can’t believe it either. Ciara first thenJamie now me.” I said turning to Kyria and her boyfriend Brett, “Your next little sis. Brett, you better get ready!” He looked scared like he had to now.
“Babe they are just joking. My family is like that, especially my sisters.”
“We are not,” I said sarcastically putting my arm around Harry and leaning against him as he kissed my forehead.
After the wedding reception, Harry and I went home and were exhausted.
The next morning I woke up and almost forgot I was engaged until I saw the shiny ring on my hand.
“Mornin Jess,” Harry said walking out of the bathroom with a towel in his hand drying his hair.
“Good Morning,” I said fiddling with the ring.
“Let’s go out for breakfast this morning,” Harry said sitting on the bed next to me, wrapping his arms around me.
“Good idea because we have no eggs.” I said pausing for a second “Let me take a shower then get dressed.”
“That will only take 4 hours,” Harry said looking at his imaginary watch.
“Shut up!” I said getting up and laughing as I walked to the bathroom.
“Watch out the floor is wet.”
“Ok I’ll use the guest bathroom,” I said as I grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt that was Harry’s but slowly became mine.
“Didn’t that used to be my sweatshirt?”
“Maybe, maybe not!” I said running out of the room before he grabbed it out of my hand.
“JESS THAT WAS MY FAVORITE SWEATSHIRT,” He said on the other side of the bathroom door.
“SORRY MINE NOW PLUS ONE CONNECTION IS MY FAVORITE BAND MORE THAN IT IS YOURS.”
“YEAH RIGHT!”
After getting dressed I went and grabbed my makeup bag and put on the least amount of makeup I could, Mascara, foundation, concealer, blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, highlighter, and lipstick, just the basics.
“Ready?” I asked Harry as I walked down the stairs.
“Finally,” Harry said as he let out a huge sign.
At breakfast, I ordered my favorite food, eggs, hash browns and grits with sourdough toast and iced coffee. Harry ordered the same as me because he can never think for himself.
“Har, why do you always have to order the same things I do?” I asked him.
“Because I never feel like reading the menus plus whatever you order always looks amazing.”
“Ok, what if I ordered something that you are allergic to then what would you do.”
“Read the menu or order what I see someone eating at the next table.”
“Harry you are so lazy.”
“I know.” He said which made me laugh.
After breakfast, I had to go to the store to get some groceries because our fridge is bare.
“What do we need here?” Harry asked as we pulled up to Walmart.
“Food.”
“Ok well, I’m gonna go to PetSmart and look around while you are getting food.”
“Fine, I’ll text you when I am done.”
“Ok.”
I went around the store and got all that we needed then headed to checkout to pay for the groceries then went to the car and texted Harry,
“I’m done. I’ll just drive up to the front so be out there in the next minute.”
I put everything in the car and drove to the front of PetSmart and saw Harry standing outside with 2 pet carriers and a cart next to him with cat food in it.
“What is the cat food and the carriers for?” I said when I heard multiple meows coming from the carriers.
“Jess they are so cute so I had to get the four of them,” he said hoping that we could keep them
“Ok get them in the back seat while I put the food in the trunk. Didn’t you get any cat litter or boxes for them?” I asked while putting the food in the trunk.
“Oops, that’s what I forgot. Let’s go back in and get some.”
“Ok let me park and you put the carriers in the cart.”
I parked the car again and we walked into PetSmart found the cat litter and the litter boxes and then I went and grabbed some toys.
“When we get home I was thinking that we could plan the wedding and all.” I said
“Good idea. I was thinking that maybe we could have a simple wedding like just fly to Vegas and get married then have a huge wedding reception here a few weeks later.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I said with a huge smile on my face.
Chapter 6
“How long is this flight?” I asked Harry as we boarded the plane to Vegas.
“5ish hours. Why?”
“Because I may take a nap after calling my cousin Jinni.”
“She is the one doing the wedding tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah,” I said, turning around to see if my parents were behind me.
We got to our plane seats and Harry was next to me across the aisle was my parents. Harry’s Mom was sitting behind us with Gemma next to her behind them where Ciara and Jon and behind Harry’s sister was my sister Jamie’s and her fiance, Kevin. Behind Jamie and Kevin were Kyria and her boyfriend, Brett, and Brett’s cousin Jimmy.
I was on my phone most of the plane ride leaving on Harry’s shoulder holding his hand, listening to music, and looking at social media. As we left the plane I saw our two favorite singers from One Connection, Tori and Zen step in front of me. I grabbed Harry’s hand and said,
“Harry, look its Tori and Zen,” as I pulled him along with me following them until they stopped and I could ask them for their autographs and photos.
“Hi, are you Tori and Zen?” I asked trying to catch my breath from pulling Harry’s weight behind me.
“Yeah we are, can we help you?” Tori said in her British accent.
“Can we get a photo with you and your autograph?” I said reaching in my purse for a piece of paper.
“No problem. This might sound like a weird question but,” Zen said looking at Harry, “Are you the owner of Club Moore, Harry Moore?”
“Yeah, I am. How do you know me?” Harry asked, looking a bit confused.
“Tori and I came here to try to get a gig there and when we looked up the owner’s name so we could know who to talk to we saw your face and name.”
“You want to work at the club?” Harry said in awe
“Yeah,” Tori said
“Come by the club at 7 tonight and we can discuss all the details and have some dinner,” Harry said trying to sound professional and not awestruck that our favorite singers wanted to work for him.
“Sounds great. Here is my number. See you both tonight,” Zen said grabbing a card from his back pocket.
“Thanks. I’ll see you then.” Harry said as we walked away completely forgetting that we were gonna take a photo with them and get their autographs.
“Harry we forgot to get their autographs and stuff,” I said a little irritated.
“So what I have their phone number and we are meeting them at the club for dinner tonight.”
We found the rest of our family at the baggage claim, which was very hectic and chaotic with everyone trying to push through to find their bags. We finally found ours and went to get the two SUV’s we rented and went to the hotel. I was overly tired from the plane ride and not sleeping as I planned, so on the way to the hotel we stopped and got Starbucks for the whole family then left and went to the hotel.
We had a hectic time trying to get to our rooms because they first could not find our registrations then they gave us not working room keys. When we finally got to our room we had 2 hours before we had to leave and meet Tori and Zen, so I got in the shower and got dressed. I put on my favorite blue and gold dress with my gold heels. After getting dressed I went to my luggage and pulled out my curling iron and put my hair in a ponytail then curled it. By the time I was ready Harry was also, so I grabbed my purse and Harry’s hand as we left our room. I went and knocked on my parent’s door and told them where we were going and told them to tell everyone else.
We hopped in the car and drove to Harry’s club in silence, both of us probably thinking what an amazing night we are going to have and that we are getting married tomorrow. After we parked and Harry turned the car off, he turned to me and took both of my hands in the most loving way and said,
“Some of the people that work here are jerks, don’t let them hurt you. Always remember I am here for you and love you so much.”
I didn’t say anything because I had no clue what to say so I got out of the car and waited for Harry to walk over to me as we walked into the club. Harry went up to the manager and asked him if he saw Tori and Zen walk in, and he said that they were in H’s office.
“Hey, Tori, Zen, follow me and we will get a table than talk business over dinner,” Harry said trying to sound as professional as possible and still be friendly.
“Sounds great!” Tori said as we all followed Harry.
As we walked to the table Tori and I got to know each other a little and found out we both were born in the same place, a small town in New York, Red House.
“When I was 2 years old, almost 3 my mom got pregnant with my sisterJamie and my parents decided that such a small town would not be good for 3 girls to grow up in so we moved to New York City where we have lived ever since,” I said to Tori as we sat down.
“That is so awesome, I lived there until I was 15 and joined the band. How many siblings do you have Jess?” Tori asked.
“I have 3 sisters, one older and two younger. Harry and I are getting married tomorrow. Why don’t you and Zen come then you could meet my family.”
“Congratulations. That sounds like so much fun. What time and where?”
I told her the information when the waiter came to the table and we all focused our attention on him.
“Hey Harry, How are you?” The waiter said.
“Hey Jake, I’m good, How about you?” Harry said to the waiter.
“Great! What can I get you guys to drink?”
“I will take a raspberry iced tea,” Harry said
“Same,” I said
“Can I have just a glass of warm water,” Tori said
“I will also have a glass of warm water,” Zen said.
“Ok, I will have that very soon.” Jack the waiter said as he walked away.
“Why do you guys want warm water, that is so plain?” I asked.
“Well,” Tori started to explain as she grabbed a tube of honey from her purse, “It is good for the vocal cords, and it dissolves the honey faster than cold water.”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
“Yeah, it’s kinda like if you are sick and have a sore throat that is what a lot of people take.”
“I have heard of that but never knew if it worked or not.”
“Yeah, it works great!”
Jack came back with our drinks and asked if we knew what we wanted to order.
“I will have the bourbon salmon, with the rice pilaf and garlic green beans,” Harry said
“That sounds amazing, I’ll have the same,” I said,
“Same here,” Tori said
“Me too. I haven’t had bourbon salmon in years.” Zen said.
“It is my favorite,” Harry said, “I have it in each of my restaurants.”
Right as Harry stopped talking my phone rang and it was my mom.
“I’m sorry I have to take this I’ll be right back,” I said as I got up and walked to the bathroom where I could hear better.
“Hey Ma what’s up, everything alright at the hotel?”
“Yeah, Jinni, just called to make sure that you two were still gonna be there at 4 tomorrow, and I told her that we all would be.”
“Awesome, now I have to go and get back to Tori and Zen, Love ya mom bye,” I said hanging up before she could say anything.
As I was walking back to the table, I saw someone who looked familiar but I wasn’t sure who he was until he asked me where the bathroom was.
“Gino, Gino Smith is that you?” I was so surprised to see my ex-boyfriend.
“Jess, how are you?” He said as he hugged me.
“Great, what are you doing here?”
“I am on my honeymoon with my wife, Loreta, what about you?”
“I am here to get married, come with me. I want to introduce you to my fiance, Harry, and a few friends of mine.”
“Ok.” He said following me
“Harry, Tori, Zen, this is my ex, Gino,” I said and when I looked at Harry he looked slightly mad.
Chapter 7
“Ok, so you can start in two weeks?” Harry said as we finished dinner.
“Yep, that is perfect, Dec 29th through July 16th,” Zen said putting it in his calendar.
“We will see you then,” Harry said as we got ready to leave.
“Awesome,” Zen said as we walked out of the building and got into our cars.
We drove for about 2 minutes with Harry saying nothing even though I was asking him things.
“Harry answer me now…. Why did you look so mad when Gino came over?”
“Because he is your ex and you acted like you were still dating him!” Harry said with jealousy in his voice.
“Baby you’re jealous!” I said grabbing my phone and pulling up the song Jealous and playing it, which caused Harry to laugh.
“I am not jealous, well maybe I am.”
“You totally are, and there is no reason to be jealous because I love you and only you, he is just my friend and will always be my friend, but you are my love, don’t forget that we are getting married in 2 months.” Even as I was saying it I still couldn’t believe 2 months and then I would be Mrs. Harry Moore.
“I love you to Jess, and I can’t wait until our wedding day.”
When we walked into the elevator I noticed something seemed off, “Harry, is it just me, or does something not feel right?”
“No, your right, love, something is off. let’s take the stairs instead.”
We walked off the elevator right before the door closed and it was a good thing that we did because as we started up the stairs there was an earthquake and if we had stayed in the elevator we would have been stuck.
As we walked into our hotel room, we turned the tv on and breaking news popped up saying that there was a 5.2 earthquake in Laughlin, Nevada and they showed photos of the Colorado River and it had huge waves and the streets around it were flooded.
“Oh my gosh, that’s horrible,” I said as my phone started to ring
“Its Kyria, I wonder what she wants?”
“Hey sis what’s up?” I said as I heard crying from the other end.
“Jess, Brett, he broke up with me.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know, Brett just texted me and said that we needed to call it quits, we are done and that was it.”
“That doesn’t sound like him, I have known him long enough to know he loves you a lot and would not just dump you like that.”
“Yeah I know, we were on facetime last night and he sounded like nothing was wrong, he acted normal.”
“I’m gonna call him and act as if nothing is wrong and I know nothing and see what he says if he says anything.”
“Ok let me know,” Kyria said as we hung up
I dialed Brett’s number and he answered, “Hey Jess, how are you?”
“I’m good, I was wondering what time you are getting to the wedding venue tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there about 4:30. Do you want me to drive Kyria down with me?
“Yeah. Everything is alright between you two?” I asked trying to see if he would tell me that they broke up.
“Well, actually I text her that we were over and I didn’t mean it. My cousin and I were playing a game and he had my phone so he texted Kyria that I was dumping her and I never would want to dump her, I love her so much, and I tried to call her to explain the entire thing but she won’t pick up. I don’t know what to do.”
“I just got off the phone with her actually and she told me what your cousin texted her but she didn’t tell me that you have been trying to call her.”
“Well can you call her and tell her that I NEED to talk to her.”
“Yeah give me a few minutes and I’ll text you.”
“Thank you, Jess.”
We ended the call and I wasn’t sure if I believed his story about his cousin sending the text.
“Hey, everything alright with Kyria?” Harry asked as he walked back into the room with a bottle of orange juice and a small pint of ice cream that he had just gotten at the gift shop in the hotel lobby.
“I am not sure, Kyria said that Brett broke up with her so I called Brett and he said that his cousin texted her and he didn’t and that he never would want to break up with Kyria,”
I called Kyria back to tell her what Brett had said.
“Kyria,” I said as she picked up.
“Yeah what did Brett say?”
“So he told me that his cousin sent the text and that he never would want to break up with you, and that he loves you so much and that you need to call him now so he can explain it all for himself.”
“Ok, I’ll call him now”
“Ok sis. Love ya and see ya tomorrow.”
We hung up and I send Brett a text telling him that Kyria is calling him
Can you tell our readers about yourself and your blog?
Of course! I am a 20-year-old Christian writer, specializing in YA speculative fiction and passionate about impacting the world with stories. I’m also an INFP, equestrian, musician, dreamer, and fan of the MCU and Star Wars. On my blog, I talk a lot about books and the writing lifestyle. I like to encourage and inspire other writers to be the best they can be.
How did you first get into blogging?
I started blogging in 2018 (wow, that feels like SO LONG ago!) as a way to start growing my author platform. I had no idea how much I would come to love it and the writer/reader blogging community!
How would you describe your blogging style?
Maybe humorous? Down-to-earth? Informative, inspiring, and motivating? At least, that’s what I strive for. 😉
So I see you are taking part in Nanowrimo this month, what genre are you writing?
I’m actually not participating in NaNoWriMo this year, instead participating in a different challenge called the King’s Daughters Writing Camp Challenge. It’s an awesome group for Christian female writers to connect and encourage each other. For this challenge I’m editing my sci-fi/superhero book.
What is your favorite genre to write?
DEFINITELY science-fiction/futuristic! It’s just so epic and so fun!
Do you like to listen to music while you write, if so what is your favorite music to listen to?
Yes, I do! I create playlists for my current projects that help me get in the perfect writing mood. They usually include a lot of songs from movies and Audiomachine.
What was your favorite part about doing Nano?
The community. The challenge of 50k words in 30 days is a daunting task, but it was such a cool feeling knowing that writers all around the world were doing the same thing and cheering each other on.
What inspired you to start writing?
I just always remember loving stories. And I’ve always been the kind of person that tries every single art form I like. XD My mom read to me and my siblings a lot when we were little, and I think that’s what sparked my passion for stories.
What advice would you give a new writer, someone just starting out?
Definitely check out this post and this post I wrote on this topic. I would also add that beginning writers need to find a balance between discovering their unique creative process and learning from others. And comparing yourself to other writers is a big no-no. Art does not thrive off of comparison. Don’t compare your chapter 1 to someone’s chapter 50. Everyone’s on their own journey, so you just keep doing your best. 🙂
What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
I’ve always been a fan of more character-driven stories, so I’d say character development is really key. As well as developing the character’s voice and weaving their internal conflict/growth into the plot. It’s hard to pick just one thing though!
What is your favorite bible verse?
Ooh, that’s a hard one! But I really love Romans 8:38-39. I know that’s technically two but they tie together 😉
Favorite book of the bible?
As you might’ve guessed, Romans. 🙂
If you gotten this far kudos!
So now on to my announcement.
I will be doing a BLOG TOUR 2.0 (because my first one failed)
Hey guys so I wanted to share some awesome things that you can go and get if you have a Walmart near you. Remember to share this so more people can get this deal.
So if you follow me on Instagram @couponing_is_fun_ then you will have seen my post about a FREE thanksgiving dinner that Ibotta is giving away. If you don’t already have an Ibotta account sign up using my code and help me out because if you use my code it give me $10 and give you between $10 and $20, which is super cool.
So the Thanksgiving dinner is a 3lb turkey, McCormick Gravy Packet, Idahoan Mashed Potatoes, French’s Original Crispy Fried Onions, Great Value Fine Green Beans, Great Value Cranberry Sauce, Great Value Flavored Stuffing Mix, Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, 2 litter Coca-Cola!
Some more free or under a $2.00 items at Walmart are
Clio Granola and Yogurt Parfait Bars, strawberry or coconut, these are between $0.25 and $2.23 money maker depending on your store price, mine is $1, so i bought 2 and still earned $0.23. Use ibotta and get the money back.
Incogmeato products ($5.00 back from ibotta) oop =$0.27
Oikos Pro Dairy Drink ($1.84 back from Ibotta) $= FREE
Chobani flip ($1.22 back from Ibotta, MUST BUY 2) oop= $1.22
Hey guys, so today I am gonna do a song review for you and the song is called Practice Girlfriend by Erin Kirby. Now if you have been following my blog for any amount of time then you’ll know that I did a interview with Erin, who is so sweet, and if you haven’t seen the post I’ll link it down below.
So today Erin dropped the music video for Practice Girlfriend and I just adore it. It is such a great music video. Now the song itself, is a boom. The lyrics are great. Its very relatable for teenagers and up. The lyrics talk about her not wanting to have to be a backup if the guys other girl ditches him. She also says in the song that she doesn’t want to be a therapist to the guy.
So I’m not gonna tell you too much about the song, just go stream it where ever you get your music from.
Hey Guys so incase you didn’t see, I have started doing blog design. If you have a blog and you need some help with the design process or anything, let me know and I will get to it. The link to my design website is below!
It can make us afraid. Can make us feel so very overwhelmed.
We live in a world, a season, of change. Pandemics, riots, politics. It can all be so scary. We try, try so very hard, to be fearless. To not fall apart.
This is not what God intended to be fearless.
Fearless is defined: “without fear.” But we’re human. There isn’t a way we can be entirely without fear. The Lord made us human, and He knows that we will always be a little scared of something or another.
Pandemics can give us anxiety.
Riots can make us leery.
Politics can make us divided.
Divided.
That’s the number one reason. Divided causes division, division causes untrust, untrust causes clinging to things we shouldn’t be clinging to. Makes us close down when we should be opening up. Fearless isn’t holding it together, it’s knowing that God made us strong enough that we can break down and still continue on with our wonderful lives. “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope filled future.” Jeremiah 29:11 states that God’s plans are nothing but good, yet we fear the future. The future is just like a flower. It’s anticipated to bloom, but it must be cultivated. God is the Great Cultivator. He sows us, waters us, encourages us. But though we want to bloom, we build up these thorns that we think keep us safe but in reality are just choking the life that God gave us from our lungs.
Leery. Distrust. It makes us push people away who God has given us because of FEAR of being vulnerable. No. The fearless person is the one that lays everything on the table, trusting God.
God knows we won’t be able to spill everything immediately. He doesn’t want you to worry. He put us on a journey so we could take steps, not a one way flight where we sit down and not move. He gave us a distance so we could take the steps we need.
Yet we cling onto so many false fears. There’s something funny about fear, it usually is something that our humans minds makeup to describe a reason for something. To help us block out the real reason for our pain.
Afraid. A fraid. We let fear fray us, instead of asking the Lord to help weave us together. The Lord just asks us one thing, to come unto Him, and He will take care of the rest.
In our lives, we have to remember that being fearless isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the rising above and conquering it. By knowing that even though this trouble may feel strong, it’s just a shadow, and you are the light.
A shadow can’t touch light.
Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters, God’s beautiful children. Don’t worry about today, or tomorrow. Worry about this moment, and at this moment, worry about being happy.
Hard times are the testing of our bravery, and these tests, dear children of the Lord, you will never fail. Not under pressure. Because God has given you the ability to rise above.
DISCLAMER: I am writing this not to shame anyone, its just something I felt I needed to do.
In this world, there are a lot of things going on right now that are not exactly “right” and “biblical” even though the world claims it is. Teenagers and 20 year old people, specifically, are being led down a path of destruction with a lot of what is happening, and it has become “socially acceptable” but to God, it is sinning. Now some of you will know what I am talking about without needing to name it, but I think it is something that I feel needs to be discussed.
Sin comes in all different forms and the devil will try to make it seem like sin is “not a big deal” but to God it is. if you read through scripture you will see that we are born with sin in our blood because of Adam and Eve.
So last night I was looking through snapchat and my friend posted that she is pregnant, now she is 18, I think and not married either. Now this is something that has become an epidemic in teens and young adults, and I am talking specifically about premarital sex.
Now you are probably thinking one of two things
#1. its not a big deal why even talk about it, I mean everyone does it
or
#2. yeah people shouldn’t do that, and it needs to be discussed.
And I am hoping that if you are a Christian, and reading this you are thinking #2. Now I wanna reiterate that I am not trying to shame people or anything, I am setting the bar straight on this important issue.
So the Bible talks about this as a sin. In 1 Corinthians 6:18 it says to “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”
God takes this very seriously or he would not have put that and many other examples in the bible.
So, I guess what I am trying to say is to follow God now that the world is doing.
me next post will be on a lighter subject, hopefully
Confessions of a Writer 