Life and Happiness

So the other day I got a shocking blow from a co-worker. I was complaining about how I hate my current position in life and how I want to make it better. Well I just want to thank you Barbara because you were right. Life is what you make of it and you have to be happy with what you have now. She continued on to say that if you are not happy with life now than when you get to where you want to be you still will not be happy.

Well throughout the day yesterday and most of all today I believe I received confirmation from the Lord himself. For some reason today I am just overjoyed and I am excited to move forward with whatever is planned for me. I am as some would call it, currently High on Life.  I have found a new regurgitation of inspiration for being healthier and even working on my novel. I am excited to get it out there to share with the world. I have wanted to be and do a lot of things in life and I know there is still time to achieve those things, but this is truly the first time I feel like I am actually going somewhere. I know having my family, friends, and god there supporting me makes a big difference.

I will be honest, there have been times when my family wasn't always in my corner. Back when I first started to develop and write my novel in December  2011. They said they did support me, but I could feel that they really didn't. I love that they can see I am serious about my writing now and are supportive about my decision to want to eventually move to London (And I know finding out we were Related to William Shakespeare had nothing to do with it!!!).

In light of my new outlook on life and wanting to become a successful Indie-Author, I would like to share some updates about one of my best friends and soon to be Indie-Author, Becky Martin, who just started the second round of editing today for the first book in her Sugar and Spies Series. I am definitely excited to begin reading it and to spread the word to everyone I know.

There is another person I recently (in a sense) became acquainted with via Twitter who has written an interesting Script for a movie that she wrote and plans to film in the near future in Louisiana with a talented cast. The name of the movie is "Sunrise Tonight," if you would like to help her make the movie a reality you are able to donate and spread the word. Here is the link with more information:  http://www.indiegogo.com/sunrisetonightmovie

So I can truly say that I am happy no matter how much I hate my current job. I am thankful to at least have one. I am also glad to have such a wonderful family and great friends who are there for me and support my current life decisions. Thank You guys for that!!! Here's to making dreams come true, no matter if it is big or small.

Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you tried to move forward it still felt like you weren't going anywhere?

What did you do to overcome that feeling?

God and his Angels.

I spoke with a family friend,  today who happened to give me two tickets to go see "Fiddler on the Roof" tomorrow. She was giving them away because her and her partner had a difficult week. Her partner has seizures and had a really bad spell during the week and ended up in the hospital, where the seizures continued because she was given a medication (sometime after she was en route to the hospital) that caused them.

She had an out of body experience in the hospital. She had seen the light and was talking to the Lords angels. She was physically conscious and the family friend heard every word she said, but from her point of view there was no one there. During her time in the hospital she had mentioned never ending strings that were connected to her fingers, which was from the love and prayers coming from those who were praying for her recovery (I was one of those) They were the only thing that was keeping her from crossing over and returning her to her partner.

Thankfully the doctors were able to figure out that it was the medicine she was given while en route to the hospital that was causing the seizures after her arrival and was able to give her something to counter balance it. I am thankful that she is now in the comfort of her own home with her partner and is continuing to heal and learn from this experience. They are two of the most genuine sweet and kind people and they both have nothing, but good intentions.

I felt this was such a miraculous story that it had to be shared!!! The Lord listens and he himself often guides us in the most unexpected ways and at times it is through conversations with angels. This also reaffirms that the great Lord does listen to our prayers because it was our prays and love for her that kept her from passing over. Those never ending strings was god's way of saying that it is not her time.

The Client List, Cravings, & Jane Austen

I bet you are all thinking, "not another one" since I have posted so many in the last 24 hours... I cannot help it... I promise though not to post another one for the next 24 hours. Plus I will be at work all evening and afternoon. 

There is a show that started last Sunday called, "Drop Dead Diva" that I have watched for the last couple of seasons. I continued to watch Lifetime Network and the next show was "The Client List." What a very interesting show. It sucks that I didn't start watching it till the end of the bloody season. Oh well I suppose that is where my HuluPlus subscription comes in handy so I am able to catch me up. I think Colin Egglesfield (not really digging the last name, but he does have a pretty face)  is a very handsome man and Jennifer Love-Hewitt is a very good actress (it is a complete change from "The Ghost Whisperer"). The show is getting interesting and I am looking forward to finding out what happens next weekend with the season finale. I need to get myself caught up before then.

On the other note for some reason I have been having a lot of cravings recently. They are really strange cravings they just seem to pop up out of nowhere. Like last week I was craving pasta in a garlic sauce. Recently I have also been craving burritos like crazy... My most recent craving was yogurt... When I was at the store the other day I ended up purchasing a bag of burritos and some yogurt (Yum, it was so good).

Moving on from cravings I wanted to share that I recently started Pride and Prejudice for the first time and cannot seem to put it down. I hate when I have to because I am dying to know what happens next. I already know how it ends... I own both the BBC version with Colin Firth (BEST DARCY EVER) and the movie with Keira Knightly. I much prefer the BBC version over all it is the closest adaptation to the book. I have a number of Austen's works left to read once I am finished with this one.
Anyways I know that last couple of portions were kind of random... I am going to head off for the day and begin to prepare for work..  Hope you all have a lovely day!!

Novel/Podcast

So I was at work the other day... I am in training again for another project within the same company. We were split into groups to work on a hands on activity and had to present it to the training class. Well one of the people in another group was presenting their portion of the presentation and was able to read it so clearly and had such a pleasant voice.

As the entire class was laughing as they were enjoying listening to him speak, I was at this moment when I hit with an idea. He would be the perfect candidate to do a free podcast of my book (of merely a a chapter or two). I brought the idea up to him during one of our breaks and he appeared to be interested. Now I only need to get back to work on my novel so I can get it edited and ready for him to record.

I am now even more excited about book and glad to be able to find another way to market my book. It was merely one of the things I learned about how to become a successful indie author, from Zoe Winter's book, "Smart Self Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author." It was a book one of my besties and aspiring novelist recommended to me. It was very insightful and helped me gain a better understanding of how to go about becoming a successful self published Author, or Indie Author as Zoe Winter's would say.  Thank you Becky for suggesting this book and look forward to reading some of her other fiction and nonfiction works.

Because of the knowledge I have learned and will continue to gain as I move onto reading one of her next books and a few of the books that were suggested within it.  I know that without a doubt I will become a successful indie author and will be able to make a living off sharing my fictional stories. If you are interested in becoming an indie author as well this is a book I highly recommend you read!

Animal Abuse!!!

I would like to confess I would be one of the first people up to bat to fight against animal abuse. I personally feel that the punishment for animal abuse is not severe enough. It is one thing if an animal is harmed because of a mere accident. It is a entirely different story of a person seeks pleasure in harming and torturing an innocent animal.

When I say animal, this goes for any living creature that our good Lord has bestowed upon this beautiful earth. Due to limited funds I am not really able to donate to help fund medical treatment for the few precious lives that are able to be saved. I can at least express my opinion about it.

I see photos on face book of these beautiful creatures (cats and dogs mostly) that have suffered so much and have been failed by humans.  Not only does it break my heart, it makes me extremely angry. So much so that I have this desire inside to hunt these people down and cause them the same pain that they had inflicted upon something so pure and innocent. I know it is wrong to think this way, but I feel the law is not doing enough to engage this issue.

If I remember correctly the majority of people that harm animals for pure pleasure (this excludes most of those who choose to neglect) they will end eventually doing the same to other people. A prime example is BTK, who happened to be a serial killer in Wichita. He was charged with killing ten people in the late 70's and 80's. He lived in the suburb of Park City and lived what appeared to live a very normal life. He even worked for the city. He secretly would harass many of the women in the area and would even capture and euthanized peoples pets, without (or minimal) warning.

Anyways lets get back on track... BTK is merely one example. I am sure there are several other instances. If animal cruelty laws here harsher I am sure there would be a chance in preventing a future serial killer.

I have my own pets or as I prefer to call them babies, because in a sense they are my children. I have a German Shepard mix named DUKE, a boxer named DIXIE, and a Chihuahua named LILBIT. I love cats too! I miss having one, my favorite thing about them is when they purr. I adore my babies more and more each day even with all their faults. I believe this is  the way God intended us to view things, to view life.  Not punish and harm others just because you are not satisfied with your life choices. The Lord will forgive you if you are sincere when you ask him, especially if the indecent was an accident.

So if you ever see someone or know if an animal is being abused or neglected please inform your local law enforcement so they are able to be arrested and at least punished for their offense. Especially if he poor innocent doesn't survive!

Memorial Day/Ear Infection

So Memorial Day was a big day... Did it turn out so well... For me it really didn't. I had my ten year class reunion. It is so hard to believe that it has been ten years. The morning started off late, but I suppose it was really my fault for that. Because I was off to a late start I was barely able to make it to the reunion. To make matters worse I started for unwell and was barely able to make it home.

I felt more fatigue than normal as I was on my way out to Peabody. I had already made one stop in Park City and was forced to make another stop in Newton. Other than the fatigue, that day, I felt fine.

I finally made it to the reunion and was able to see a handful of my classmates. We exchanged hellos, but that was really about it. I know I have changed and I am not that same girl that was in High School, but for some reason I instantly reverted back to her. I felt awkward and to be honest invisible. It is a feeling that I know many people feel during High School... I hated it because I am not invisible! I am not shy (for the most part)! I am not quiet! I am LOUD and PROUD, but what I want to know is what happened to me that day. I suppose it is because these are some of the few people I grew up with and I am worried about what the think of me. I know I shouldn't and on any given day I wouldn't care... It could have been because I was under the weather and honestly had been for about a week, with frequent migraines. I am proud to say that I at least dressed to impress.  As for revealing who I truly am I will get another chance on the Fourth of July.  I will even have a larger audience, hehe.

I also had the opportunity that day after the reunion to visit with family... It is always good to see my St. Francis. Once I was finished visiting I headed home. The fatigue began to become worse... I again had to stop in Newton... I felt light headed and my migraine had returned. I again stopped in Park City to stretch my legs and wake myself up. I was thankful to arrive home and crashed. I was under the weather for the following week. The headache turned to a pounding in my left ear and blurred my vision  in my left ear. That week I ended up missing several days of work. What concerned me more than anything was the strange lump that was behind my ear. I later learned that one of my lymph nodes was swollen (and still is). I finally broke down and went to the doctor this last Monday and was diagnosed with an ear infection.

Since I have been on antibiotics I can tell a huge difference... Yes, my lymph node is still a little swollen and if it is still there after I have finished my antibiotics than I will return to the doctor for further examination (I am not looking forward to the bill... Unfortunately my Insurance will not kick in till early next month).

Movie Reviews!

I sincerely do apologize for not writing sooner. Between work and being under the weather I have found it difficult to find time to write. Not to mention I have been having issues with my computer charger (will thankfully be receiving a new one in the mail sometime this week). I do still plan to write and share my movie reviews and I also plan  to write more frequently.

On Wednesday May 23, 2010 I had the opportunity to view two of the most recent releases, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" (with my sister) and "The Avengers" (with my buddy Andrew). It was an eventful day and I was able to spend time with two people that I care about and don't have the opportunity to see frequently because our schedules consistently conflict with each other.

I remember the day clearly. It was a very windy, hot, and humid afternoon. It was even muggy inside the theater. It is always a joy and a blessing to spend every moment with my beautiful big sister. We have this special bond that I do not share with my other siblings. We are always able to talk about things I am not able to speak with our mother (or other members of the family) about. She understands me and wants the best for me, which is all I ever wanted. Unlike other members of the family that just speculate and judge.  It was her and my brother-in-law that was able to lead me to the correct path and revealed to me the true love and salvation of our holy God. I have believed in the Lord all my life, but I was not truly saved until my early twenties. My religious journey will have to wait for another time.

My sister and are able to spend several hours together. Just her presence is enough to reassure me. I feel truly loved without judgement in her presence. I love that fact that she is able to listen. It is more like our hearts speaking to one another without a word escaping from our mouth. She is truly and always will be one of my best friends and hope to one day be able to proudly share my success with her.

Okay now that I have stepped off my soap box and express how much a truly love my eldest sister I should continue on with the first of my two movie reviews. That afternoon my sister and I viewed "What to Expect When You're Expecting." I thought it was a cute and fun quirky movie. It had a great cast with pleasant eye candy... The story line was at times a little difficult to follow because of the fact that they were jumping from one experience to another... As long as you pay attention instead of drool over the hot eye candy you will be able to keep up with the story line. I liked how the different story lines are connected, similar to how the characters were connected in the movie "Valentines Day."

Later that evening I met up with my friend Andrew. I met up with him about 30 minutes before the show started so we could enjoy some Gilato from a nearby restaurant. We talked while we ate and caught up with what was going on in each others lives. We had made several other failed attempt to hang out the previous couple of months, but something would always come up. C'est la vie. 

We initially had other plans to have dinner with another friend of mine, but she was under the weather and had had to cancel. So we made last minute plans to go see "The Avengers." Bonus since it was Wednesday our tickets to see the movie were only five dollars, well actually six dollars ea with the extra fee from ordering on movietickets.com. 

This movie too had a star studded cast with plenty of eye candy. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It has a clean storyline. There was plenty of action and laughs. To be honest I liked the movie so much I ended up seeing it a second time a couple of weeks later with my friend, Lena, at the drive in where we also had the opportunity to watch "Snow White and the Huntsman." Another great movie. 

Can we say YUM!!! This movie 

definitely required a drool bucket! 

Inspiration and more William Shakespeare

I apologize for not writing sooner. Things have been somewhat chaotic in my life at the moment. I don't have much time to say what I would like to say... So please pardon any misspelling and grammar.

I would to write about how my surroundings and life have been and will continue to be an inspiration for my writing. I was stuck with a scene in my current novel of how the character should react in the certain situation he was in. I had taken the dogs out one comfortable breezy evening and sat out there with them and listened to the gentle cool breeze speak to me and it hit me. I immediately began to write and nearly finished that scene until I had to stop and get ready for work, how convenient.

I recently learned this is what inspired my dear distant cousin in several of his works. He was a fascinating person and I hope to continue to learn more about him in the near future as I begin research for my upcoming novels. Speaking of Sir William, I again recently discovers that even if we did share his maternal linage I would still be related to him through his paternal line. I discovered in my family book that his paternal grandfather had married the sister of his maternal grandmother.

Learning more about William's life is in it self an inspiration, learning about the trials that he and the rest of the family faced as well as the beauty that surrounded him within the Warwickshire country side. I was able to recently view a program that followed William from the union of his parents to his death. Upon viewing this program I now have an even greater desire to return to England and walk in his footsteps for myself.  This program also opened my eyes to the greater beauty and inspiration of the outdoors. The good Lord has certainly blessed each and every one of us with life and the beauty that surrounds it.

I must conclude this post for now, because I have made plans with my older sister. We are going to go watch "What to Expect When Your Expecting." I shall post a review probably tomorrow because this evening I am going to see, "The Avengers" with my buddy Andrew too. Have a wonderful day and be sure to take a step outside to enjoy the beauty of nature.

Creativity and William Shakespeare

This is my first official introduction to the world. My name is Christina Nava. I am aspiring to be a lot of things, but my most recent aspiration is to become a novelist. I have several novel ideas building up in my head. Thankfully I immediately write them out or else I swear my head would explode. To be quite frank I didn't really start enjoying to read until my senior year of High School, which surprisingly was nearly over a decade ago (I do have a class reunion coming up and I am looking forward to seeing everyone again and become acquainted with their families). To be honest I really didn't care for writing either until fairly recently.

I currently have a B.A. in Anthropology and am in the process of working towards my B.A. in History. What is Anthropology? That is a question that I have been asked frequently. It is merely the study of humans both in the present and throughout history. I could go on about anthropology, but I am not going to at this point in time. I have also chosen History because I find it fascinating to be able to learn about people in different areas of the world and how their choices and actions have made an impact on our lives today. My specific interests of studies are Colonial Latin America and Europe from the middle ages up to the early 1900's (particularly in Western Europe).

I didn't  developed an affinity for England until I decided to visit a friend there in the early summer of 2010. We met up in one of the most AMAZING cities in the world. Words cannot even begin to describe it's allure. The British Museum was one of my absolute favorite places. I hope to be able to one day soon visit again with some of my best friends so they are able to experience the magic of this fascinating historical city. England is also where the brilliant literary genus William Shakespeare was born. He too fell in love with the city of London during the Elizabethan era. I could only imagine what it would have been like for him. Especially after experiencing the city for myself. 

As part of my interest in history I also have a desire to discover who my ancestors are and where they came from. I am thankful to a member of the Campbell family who had done just this. I was browsing through his findings one day and came across an infamous name. I thought nothing of it for I was limited on time and merely desired to know how far back and where the genealogical findings led.  The findings dates back to the year 1350 and frequently lists Stratford, Warwickshire, England.  

I have recently taken a much closer look at the genealogical findings after I  began looking up information about this literary genius so I could compile a reading list for the summer (to begin research for one of my novels I plan to begin writing in the near future) and recognized a few of the names and places in his biography. Even than it took a few days for this information to settle and the pieces began to connect.  This brought me back to the compiled data that I had of my family history and there the name was clear as day on the paper, Shakespeare. William's, mother and father were listed within the book. His maternal grandfather is my 15th great grandfather Robert Arden Son of Thomas Arden.

Just to be sure my mind was not playing tricks on me I hurried down to the basement and consulted with my mother. I reviewed my findings with her and she to too was able to confirm that the names and the dates matched. The excitement overwhelmed me and truthfully there are no words to describe how I currently feel. I just want to shout it out to the world (which in a sense that is what I am doing), but I have decided that I will channel this excitement into my current novel. I look forward to begin studying his works for my upcoming novel set in England during the Tudor reign.

I plan to continue writing, sharing, and updating you all on my current works and thoughts. I now must depart so I may rejoin the real world and prepare to go to work.  I hope you all enjoy your wonderful blessed Friday and thanks for reading.