Tag: photooftheday

Mom Life, Posts

International Women’s Day 2021

marcetheblogger

Empowerment means having the confidence to have control of self and receiving the support that is right. It means you are respected and have the power to do something. Much of women empowerment is mentioned in politics and is directed towards women in a professional career (rightfully so) but that leaves out a key role some women play in their life…being a mother.

Let’s think about this. We can carry another being (or multiples) for nine months! We then have to deliver these little ones and be in full mommy mode while recovering from delivery. As mothers we have to adapt to changes immediately and navigate parenting without a guide book! This is truly empowering. Of course, this does not minimize women in professional careers but shows appreciation and support for women who are at home nurturing their kids which is significant and meaningful.

Oftentimes, these women are overlooked and bombarded with pessimistic messages from family, friends, colleagues, and especially social media. Social media can portray a negative image of mothers because the messaging is women are wasting so many rights we fought to gain by being home and not doing “real work.”  

Motherhood needs more recognition and support and way less judgement.  There are many questions we think about when we go to bed at night and the key one is am I doing this right? So this March, Women’s Month, take some time to recognize a woman or women in your life who have made an impact on you or are making an impact in the world by caring for children.  A simple text goes a long way and can put a smile on another woman’s face and increase their confidence.  

This pandemic demonstrated how empowering motherhood can be. It opened my eyes to what being a stay at home mom really means. Waking up everyday with a toddler and preteen at home while having to work full time has not been easy but those tight hugs and goodnight kisses make it worthwhile. You see real power consists of choice, creativity, control and flexibility and mothers are out here doing it each and everyday.

Empowered Women Empower Women
Posts

This Week’s Top 3 Accomplishments

marcetheblogger

This has been quite a long week for me. 🕔🕙

Finally returned to work (virtually) after being off more than two weeks and I am super proud I didn’t let myself work outside of work hours or become overwhelmed. 👏🏽

Excited about starting my Pinterest business page which has already made more impressions than I thought I could get. 🥳

I am also proud to have found motivation to work out every day. Thank you to @masterconsistency for the push on Tuesday! 💪🏽

Happy Friday! 💮

Accomplishments of the Week
Posts

Only Believe Half of What You See

marcetheblogger
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_5701.jpg
Westside Park – NJ

At quick glance, you see calm water and the bright sun, could be warm and cozy, however, it was windy and freezing. This quick snapshot just captures a single still moment in time but doesn’t define or tell what else is going on.

We live in a world where we are lead to believe everyone is living their best life (and hey, some probably are). Seriously though, everything posted on social media (for the most part) indicates everyone is just achieving all of their goals and doing great things, traveling to amazing places, and dressing nicely.

I received a message from one of my chapter sister’s this week that inspired this post. She said we don’t share our downfalls or losses often enough. I also listened to a podcast where someone shared how they don’t compare themselves to what they see because they don’t know what those people went thru to get to where they are. And they are both absolutely right.

So many people are fighting silent or hidden battles, illnesses, losses, and just plain daily struggles. Pictures are just single still moments and nothing else. We don’t know the work that was put into it or what someone had to overcome or what someone feels they have to prove to actually post that one picture. We also don’t know what struggles someone had to learn and surpass to achieve an accomplishment they share. But so often we catch ourselves getting consumed with this and feeling down about ourselves. You should just remember we are all works in progress and you may be envying or jealous of something that doesn’t even really exist.

So today try to think about the following:

  • Life is too short.
  • Tomorrow is not promised (same as the first, just worded differently).
  • Celebrate a small win.
  • Give someone a genuine compliment.
  • Call/message/text someone you haven’t spoken to in a while.

Remember: We all have our own struggles but sometimes reaching out to others can be just the medicine they need which in turn fulfills us as well.

Mom Life

Pregnant? Know Your Rights!

marcetheblogger

So the other day I was speaking to my sister and I ended up thinking about that time. You ever have those moments? Where you think to yourself I remember the time…Well I did and what I am about to speak about often comes to my mind and upsets me because I did not know any better.

I began working at Champs right after I graduated high school back in 2006. For those that don’t know, Champs is a part of the Foot Locker chain. That summer I helped to set up the store which was brand new and then went on to work as a cashier. I worked there during each of my breaks from college until the summer of 2008 which was right before I had my daughter that December. At the end of that summer, I gave my two weeks notice and never returned.

What happened is unfortunate and I am sure has been experienced by many women. That summer my manager found out I was pregnant through another source (not me!). The moment she knew, I could tell. Instantly I saw the schedule which had already been posted was suddenly changed and there was a noticeable decrease in my hours. I did not feel comfortable addressing it with her so I went straight to corporate Human Resources. They contacted my District Manager who then proceeded to request a meeting with me after we had a phone conversation.

She made an attempt to make things right and at the time I guess I felt it was sufficient. I mean think about it…I was a young college student who needed the extra cash during the summer especially being pregnant. I was just worried about keeping my job.

During the meeting, she apologized on behalf of the store manager but then proceeded to present me with a write up! She told me it was for a no call/no show for a day that at that time was about a month old. Not to mention, I actually did call out but of course the manager claimed I had not. She told she would make sure I got my hours back but I also needed to sign the write up. This is where I didn’t know any better comes in.

I didn’t know any better back then. I stupidly signed the paper and went back to work as if nothing happened. Thinking back at it I had every right to decline to sign and then return to HR to express that I felt the write up was done as a retaliation tactic because honestly that’s what it was. The apology was for me to feel better but the write up was to make the Store Manager and DM feel better.

It upsets me to think back at this situation. I was a good employee for those two years. I barely called out and dedicated my evenings, weekends, and sometimes almost full days to them for extra cash. And at the end, I quit! I felt I had been taken advantage of and even more so now because I know I had rights as a pregnant woman I was not aware of back then.

I share this because if you are pregnant for the first time regardless of age, make sure you know your rights. And even if it’s not your first time, just make sure you read up on any changes that might have happened since the last time you were pregnant.

Below are some links to helpful resources:

https://www.nj.gov/njparentlink/career/maternity/

https://www.nj.gov/njparentlink/career/childcare/index.html

https://www.nj.gov/njparentlink/parenting/101/

Family

Bowling – COVID Edition

marcetheblogger

With everyone being home for the majority of their days, sometimes a night out can be really good for morale and trying to maintain some type of normalcy. So this past Friday, we decided to have a family bowling night at Bowlero. I decided to share this experience with y’all because a lot of questions came up for me related to what can be expected during this time at places such as these. So I figured you might be wondering the same.

Clear signage? Yes I can definitely say Bowlero had clear signs on their doors and arrows on the floors to try and maintain direction and control of which way people walked. Fortunately, we got there around 7PM so it wasn’t full at all. One tip: check to see if there are any specials going on. This could either save you money if you’re interested or keep you from going at a time with way more people. That night specials started at 9PM and as we were leaving, you could definitely tell the parking lot was more full and more people were coming in.

Temp check? No, they did not do temperature checks at the door.

Face masks required? Yes face masks were required the whole time even while bowling. The face masks could only come off if you were eating. They definitely had this emphasized on their TVs all over the alley.

Food? Yes food service was available. They actually had it where a waitress would come to your lane or you could walk and place an order at their counter. This was different because they did not previously have waitresses. I am assuming this was done to keep so many people from walking back and forth and around the alley.

Bar? Yes, the bar was open but not packed at the time we were there.

Arcade? Now here is where my concern was. Some people were eating at the tables behind their lanes but also walking back and forth to the arcade so I did witness some people with their face masks down in that area.

Bathrooms? The bathrooms were not as clean as I would think. The paper towel was sitting on the counter over the sink so it was definitely getting touched by multiple people and also damp.

Sanitizing? This was also something that stuck out to me. This facility did not have any hand sanitizing stations. Most places I have been to recently either have hand sanitizer available at the entrance/exit or throughout their facility for easy access. This was not the case at the bowling alley. Fortunately we had brought our own hand sanitizer to keep in our area but it would have been nice to have it around considering the many hands touching the equipment and arcade games.

Overall, we had a great time. The kids really enjoyed themselves and I did feel pretty safe. I know everyone has their own boundaries regarding going out so if you are considering bowling as an activity I would definitely say check it out at a time that is not usually busy.

Stay safe!

Family, Friends, Travel

Fall Weekends

marcetheblogger

I was going through a “funk” for a little bit. Change of season, peak busy time at work, and still grieving all hit me and it was nonstop tears. This past week and a half I finally started to get past it but this weekend was def the final touch to regroup.

We unplugged from the world and it was exactly what I needed. We also didn’t bring the kids with us which means I literally got a break and alone time with my honey.

The nights were spent by the fire filled with conversation and laughter. It was an overall great time with my fiancé, cousins and new people. I loved that we had no phone service because it allowed us all to interact, explore, and eat (a lot) lol.

Many people I know hesitate to experience camping but let me tell ya it’s a must try. At least once!

How are you spending your Fall weekends?

Family

Hello October!

marcetheblogger

It’s officially October and that means pumpkin spice lattes, apple and pumpkin picking, and Halloween!

I won’t lie I am not the biggest fan of Halloween but for these two I def pretend to be haha.

This year we rushed to get into the spirit and actually purchased two pumpkins to carve ourselves. My daughter and I did the cleaning and my fiancé helped carve the faces. My son wasn’t too much help since he’s so small but he def loved seeing them light up.

This was a great family activity that didn’t take up too much time. It’s also a great way to get the kids away from technology for a bit and really opens up time for conversation. It’s truly amazing the things kids will speak about when given the time and space for it!

What fun things are you doing with your families this fall?

My son, John Jr., and daughter, Jena, with our two Halloween ready pumpkins.

Mom Life

Work from Home with a Twist

marcetheblogger

One of the advantages of working from home is that you can really change your environment for the day while still getting your tasks and responsibilities completed.

On Wednesday, I made this beautiful site my office. The weather was perfect and you can’t beat this scenery. My fiancé kept our son entertained while I attended my meetings.

The upside of this was when I had a few minutes in between sessions I was able to enjoy the space around me with my loved ones.

Nothing like some ecotherapy to relax you and clear your mind.

Has anyone else changed their at home office locations during this pandemic?

Travel

Labor Day Weekend 2020

marcetheblogger

What did you do this past Labor Day weekend?

I spent it on an RV farm! Our friends drove their camper and we were able to pitch a tent on their site.

I actually captured this amazing shot during a sunrise on our second day! The view was so much better in person but this picture gives you an idea. It was a little chilly but nothing a warm cup of coffee couldn’t fix.

The best part, you ask? I was completely alone.

How did I manage to escape by myself? Well I actually needed to use the restrooms and it was super early so I walked up the hill while everyone was asleep. I came out and checked what time the sun would rise so I decided to stick around and wait. Def glad I did since it was the only morning I was up early enough to enjoy it!

Love to embrace nature especially with family and good friends but also quietly by myself.

Pleasant Acres – Sussex, NJ


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Family, Mom Life, Travel

Cruise 2019 – Pictures

marcetheblogger

Hi everyone!

I am a picture fanatic so this post will be dedicated to a few pics from our family cruise. We went this past August and had a great time! It was an amazing experience and we all enjoyed ourselves! We stopped at some beautiful ports in a week span. Thank you Carnival for the memories!