Dear Mom

I know I don’t say this often enough, or maybe even ever, but from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for always, always, always being there for me the way no person ever has been or ever will be. You have been right by my side through the very worst of times, and the very best.

Thank you for listening to me talk a situation to death for hours on end with no judgement or criticism, but with compassion and empathy, like only a mother can. You have never stopped believing in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I will forever associate the saying, “You go girl!” with you.

Thank you for always being honest with me. I may not want to hear it, but you know it’s what I need to hear. I might even act like a total brat at times, raise my voice and take my frustrations out on you, and for that I am sorry, but perhaps it’s easier for me to do that because I know that no matter what, you love me unconditionally.

You are the most selfless, caring, hardworking, kind and (one of the) funniest people I know. I know how much you and dad have sacrificed in order to give Rio and I the best life possible.

Mom, you are my best friend. Thank you for your continuous support throughout whatever life throws at me (a lot of hard balls in recent years), and for never hindering my growth and for giving me wings to fly. I can only hope that one day I will be the kind of mother you are.

Thank you for everything you do.

Happy Mother’s Day. I love you.

In Defence of Online Dating

Let me start by stating how much I hate the dating game. I do. It sucks. I think it’s stupid that people don’t know how to be happy with one person. I don’t get how people can juggle multiple people at once and how they always need to be looking for the next best thing. It boggles my mind. That seems so exhausting to me. Not to mention, you’re never really giving one person a fair shot if you’re always dividing your attention. With that being said, I do understand that’s simply the reality of dating today and there is not a damn thing I can do about it. If you’re going to date in 2015, you just have to roll with it. Expect the worst and hope for the best, because there are always exceptions to every rule. 

The reason I was inspired to write this blog today was because I have seen a lot of criticism about Tinder and online dating in general. I often find myself reading opinion pieces, and some of the things that I’ve read lately have gotten under my skin. What bothers me is that some of these pieces comment of the type of people who use online dating as a means of meeting people. That’s where I take offence. I use online dating, but I am not the horribly desperate kind of person that is frequently being described. Yes, there are some really shitty people out there, but there are some really freaking awesome people out there too. Myself included. 

After spending a good portion of my 20s dating, I took a couple of years off. I had enough. I needed to focus on myself and my career and if I happened to meet someone along the way, then great.  During my years of dating and heartbreaks, people always told me to stop looking and that “you’ll meet someone when you least expect it!” Well guess what? It didn’t happen. I’m 32. I have a career, great friends, an amazing family, I can travel and I have nice condo with a lake view that I love. I know how to be on my own. I don’t need anyone else to make me happy, but it would be really nice to have someone to come home to. It would be really nice to have a family of my own.  I’m not a desperate person for wanting that. I’m just human. 

Given that I started this piece by stating that I hate the dating game, it should come as no surprise that I was completely against joining Tinder. There was no way in hell I was ever going to join. Pigs would fly before I joined Tinder. But, there came a point after years of not dating and just not being able to meet people organically, that I thought, ‘why not? I have nothing to lose!’ So, I joined Tinder. And then I tried out some other apps as well. I was ready to put myself back out there again. Tinder is where people are…and it’s not like I was going to join POF again! We all know what Tinder is about, but like I mentioned earlier, there are exceptions to every rule. There are some great people on there who just might be looking for the same thing as you; whatever that may be. If you’re going to meet someone in person, I just think it’s important to know if you’re on the same page or not. 

An amazing thing happened after I made the decision to put myself back out there again. I’m not sure if it was the way I carried myself that changed, my blonder hair or what it was exactly, but people started noticing me. I saw people noticing me. Hell, I even had a guy stop me on the street and tell me how beautiful I was and ask me on a date! I politely declined with a ‘no, thank you!’ I then laughed to myself as I walked away. 2 months ago, that would have never happened. By making that decision to put myself back out there, it only benefit me in the real world too and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.  

Dear 2013

Dear 2013,

Well, I’m not sure where to begin. Actually, scratch that! I’m glad you’re over! It’s not that you were the worst year ever, I’ve certainly had worse. It’s just that you weren’t great either.

Sure you had some awesome moments, like getting to spend quality time in Jamaica with some of my rather large family, going on not one, but two amazing girls trips to Vegas, turning 30, landing my dream job, and on the very last day of the year, finding out that I got the condo I wanted! There were also some fun concerts and great moments with my wonderful friends and family thrown in there. I cherish every single one of those memories.

I will not miss all those very trying times that you had to offer though. Not just trying times for me, but for those I love as well. I hate watching the people I love go through hell, even though we all know life can’t be butterflies and rainbows all the time. I think we’ve all had enough heartache and loss to last us a while, thank you very much!

I’ve always known not to give up on my dreams, and though I may have been close at some points, I never did. I always tried to remain positive. Not giving up will pay off people!!! NEVER give up on your dreams! Work your butt off and make it happen! Always ignore the people who you know do not support or believe in you. Trust me when I say, you will know who is there for you during the tough times. You don’t want people in your life who take a hike when times get tough anyways.

Goodbye 2013. 

Hello 2014, you’re mine!

Sincerely,

Me

Insight of the Day

Came across a quote today that sums up how I feel about things quite nicely. I also just love that it came from one of my fave funny ladies! 

"Don't become something just because someone else wants you to, or because it's easy; you won't be happy. You have to do what you really, really, really, really want to do, even if it scares the shit out of you." 

-Kristen Wiig

Country Sunset

Some views you can never get sick of. Just another one of the beautiful sunsets on the farm.

Insight of the Day

"Remember, the thoughts that you think and the statements you make regarding yourself determine your mental attitude. If you have a worthwhile objective, find the one reason why you can achieve it rather than hundreds of reasons why you can't."
 
Napoleon Hill
1883-1970

It's About Time That I Vent a Little

You know, when I decided to go in a slightly different direction in my career, I could never have imagined the obstacles that I would have to overcome...not even close! I knew it would be challenging of course, but I could have never ever in my wildest dreams imagined this. I try my best to stay positive about it all, but sometimes I just have to sit here and vent about how much this blows!

I'm in some weird area where I don't have x amount of years in a certain industry or the highly regarded Bachelor's degree...as if that makes me incapable of doing a great job! I think people can sometimes forget that a piece of paper doesn't necessarily make you a better candidate or any smarter than someone with a College Diploma. My passion and drive to succeed and to prove myself along with all the skills I've learned along the way would make me an awesome addition to any team. I really just need one person to see that...seriously, all it will take is ONE person to take a chance on me.  

On the flip side, I'm not even a good candidate for a "crappy job" as people love to call them since I've held a great job for nice period of time that they know I am over qualified and would be bored. I know this because I've actually been told by someone who was nice enough to have that conversation with me and not just let my resume sit in the black hole of the internet. 

So where does this leave me? Not anywhere that I want to be, that's for sure. The problem is, is that I have no idea what to do about it anymore. I'm at a loss and need help. Maybe something new and different to try? That being said, I do know to at least to not give up and to keep plugging away at it and have faith that someone out there will take a chance on me. I'm worth it, I promise.

It's my Blog and I'll Blog When I Want to!

I've taken a very long break from blogging over the past year. There are times that I feel very guilty that I haven't written, but then I remember that the only person who actually cares about that, is me. 

I have nobody to be accountable to other than myself. This is my blog and it's for me. It's a place where I share what I am feeling or thinking when I feel like it...and the fact is, I have not felt like writing over the last year. Well, that's not entirely true either, there have been plenty of times where I have needed to write, and have, but kept it to myself. Sometimes, as much as I like sharing parts of my life on my blog, there are some things that I refuse to blog about.

This past year has been a real challenge for me. Lot's good, some bad. I've made big steps forward, but also had many setbacks. There have been many times where I just felt like banging my head against a wall over and over out of frustration.

Yeah, just like Dobby there. Just. Like. That. Over and over again. I love Dobby. Anyways.
 
I have decided that I am going to try and blog more often. I'm certain I am going to have more to blog about this year...like dealing with turning 30 and the expectations that I had for myself and my life by the time I turned 30, you know, things like that.
 
Thank goodness for amazing family and friends though. They are the reason that I was able to make it through the last year with just a few little bumps and bruises. I love them with my life and am so grateful to be so blessed.

Until next time,
 
Scerina
xoxo

 

Peak of Whistler

This was one of the best moments of my life: Sitting at the Peak of Whistler. Absolutely stunning.

Quote of the Day

"A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Why Settle?

I often wonder why it is that people just expect you to settle for something you don't want in life. Like seriously. Why? 

I completely realize that in life, people do what they have to do to survive, but just giving up and settling for less than what you want or deserve should not be an option. 

I can't tell you how many times in the last 6 months people have said to me, "why don't you do something you don't like for a while?" Automatically, it's negative. If I have the financial means to focus on me and what I want, then I why on earth should I settle for something I don't like? The answer? I won't.

Insight of the Day

This is exactly where I am at right this moment!

"Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you're ready or not, to put this plan into action."

 

Napoleon Hill
1883-1970, Author of Think and Grow Rich

Heart Cloud

Photo: By Me. June 8th, 2012. Caledon, ON

Truth

Like this? Check out this Facebook page: My Attitude - My Life - My Rules

Insight of the Day

I read this today and it really hit home with me. I've been around far too many people in this life who care way too much about winning and always having to defeat someone or take them down just so they can get ahead. In my opinion, that is no way to live. 

"The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought into other people's lives than you will from the time that you outdid and defeated them."

Harold Kushner
Rabbi and Author